A peacock dancing in the jungle, with a fully bloomed train might be a common sight in the jungles of north Bengal, but My Kolkata was surprised to see this just 49 kilometres away from Kolkata.
A quaint village along NH 12, Gandhi Gram is home to over 50 peacocks. But these majestic birds were never meant to be here.
Gandhi Gram's mango orchards are home to the peacocks
A common misconception about the national bird is that it ‘dances’ only in the rain. They ‘dance’ because it is their mating ritual, and perform it whenever they woo a female of their species.
Upen Kalya is a photojournalist and a fruit harvester. His house is at the edge of the village, after which there is an expansive 40 bigha forest with mango trees, bamboo and jackfruit trees. He is also a peacock rescuer.
Upen Kalya feeding rice grains during the peacocks feeding time Amit Datta
“The history of these birds dates back a couple of centuries,” says Kalya.
“My earliest memory associated with a peacock is rescuing them. My family has had a history of taking care of animals, be they wild or domesticated,” says Kalya.
He lives in a two-storey house, surrounded by evergreen trees. He has blue industrial-sized drums that serve as feeding stations for the rainbow birds.
Kalya's residence in Gandhi Gram Amit Datta
Historically, there were no peacocks in the vicinity of Kolkata, says Bijay Adhikari, a retired banker and bird historian for more than three decades.
“These birds need dry plains, meadows and high perches to survive. They were never a part of Kolkata’s marshy landscape. We can find these birds in Purulia and in parts of north Bengal like Gorumara Forest and Jaldapara Forest,” said Adhikari.
A peacock with a fully bloomed train, in the courtyard of Kalya's house Upen Kalya
Adhikari has visited Gandhi Gram, seen the peacocks in their habitat, and affirms that the peacocks were never naturally present there, but were introduced by zamindars and the nouveau riche in Bengal, somewhere in the late 18th century.
Peacock genes and rescue operations
Peacocks are incredibly fragile birds, explains Kalya.
“They are solitary animals and do not like noise. We had a marriage function in our house in May. The noise and humdrums made the birds very wary. They stopped coming to the feeding stations for a week,” said Kalya.
Various types of peacock feathers that Kalya has collected over the years Amit Datta
Kalya has learned from his veterinary doctor friends, wildlife rescuers and his elder brothers on how to care for these birds.
“My elder brothers set up a wildlife conservation society in Rajhat. That was my initiation into wildlife rescue. Now, I can even give injections and medicine to the sick birds,” says Kalya.
A shed in Kalya's house to treat the injured birds Upen Kalya
Kalya says the wildlife department of the government doesn’t really care for the birds.
“They have never shown interest in conservation of these birds because they live on private property. But if one of them dies, the procedures after death are more troublesome than a human death.”
Because the peacock is the national bird, it has to have an autopsy report. A death certificate will be issued stating the cause of death. Only then can the animal be buried.
There are various natural predators of the bird in the jungles: jackals, monitor lizards and snakes. But the biggest threat is street dogs, informs Kalya.
“Once the dogs get a taste of peacock blood, they try to hunt the birds. Dog bites are fatal for them. I have tried many times to save them, but they die within a month of the bites. I lost one of the birds just the previous week, from a dog bite,” said Kalya.
This bird had recently been a victim of dog attacks. It lost some of its tail feathers in the attack Amit Datta
There is also the risk of poachers.
“We have had multiple reports of ‘tourists’ coming to this village and offering money for peacock eggs. We have rescued these eggs from as far as Halisahar in North 24 Parganas,” says Kalya.
While visiting Kalya’s house, we saw dogs running in the jungle; the peacocks have grown weary of them. To escape the dogs, they find suitable tree tops to take shelter.
There are no grants or aid for the birds, mentions Kalya.
“We feed the birds a mixture of wheat and rice grains. They get insects and small snakes in the forest too. But they regularly visit us during dawn and dusk,” says Kalya.