Two green-winged macaws worth Tk8 lakh stolen from Gazipur safari park; 1 rescued
One of the birds has been rescued from a bird shop in Tongi, where it was sold for Tk40,000. Another is feared to have died
One of two red-and-green macaws, also known as green-winged macaws, stolen from the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Sreepur of Gazipur was rescued from a bird market in the Tongi area.
Thieves stole the birds after cutting the iron fence of the macaw aviary at the park, according to a written complaint lodged with the Sreepur Model Police Station by the park authorities.
"Last Friday night, two macaw birds were stolen from the macaw aviary inside the park. One of the birds has been recovered in raids conducted in the bird market area in Tongi of Gazipur," Rofiqul Islam, acting in-charge of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, told The Business Standard.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"The park's Wildlife Inspector Raju Ahmed filed a written complaint against the unidentified thieves with the Sreepur Model Police Station," he added.
As per the complaint, the stolen birds are worth around Tk8 lakh in the market at present.
Nazmul Hasan, sub-inspector of Sreepur Police and the investigation officer of the complaint, said, "After receiving the written complaint at the police station, we immediately started the work to rescue the bird. One suspect was identified with the help of information technology. After verifying the information received, on the same day, an operation was conducted in a bird market area near Sena Kalyan Road in the Tongi Bazar area of Gazipur city.
"One of the macaws was rescued from a bird shop with the help of the safari park authorities. The shop owner said that the bird was sold for only Tk 40,000," he said.
However, for the sake of investigation, police officer Nazmul Hasan said he would not reveal the names of those involved in the theft and sale.
Meanwhile, the park's Wildlife Inspector Raju said the rescued macaw has fallen sick as it was forcibly taken out from the aviary and its mouth was taped shut.
"Currently, the bird has been brought to the park and is being treated."
The other macaw is feared to have died.
"We have been able to identify the thief following the statements of various witnesses. We contacted law enforcement to arrest him. But we think the other bird may not be alive," said Sharmin Akhter, divisional forest officer of Dhaka.
She said a probe committee will be formed to find out whether the theft took place because of anyone's negligence.
At present, there are 27 macaws in Gazipur Safari Park.
Due to their rarity and high prices in black markets, macaws are popular targets among thieves and bird traffickers.
According to the trade database of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), between 2020 and 2023, more than 1000 green-winged macaws were imported into Bangladesh. Most of these had potentially slipped in under different names.
It is listed on CITES Appendix II, which restricts macaw trade.
