A local young man named Rafiqul Islam Roky has rescued a rare bird, a marabou stork, in Joypurhat.

The bird was rescued at about 10am on Saturday (1 July) from a field in Chak Ujal village of Chakbarkat union in Sadar upazila.

Rafiqul Islam Roky told Jagonews24: "While grazing cattle in the field, I saw that the bird could not fly. I called two friends, Ashik and Bidyut, and we rescued it and brought it home. Since then many people from the surrounding area have been crowding in to catch a glimpse of it."

Mohsina Begum, central vice-president of the Bangladesh Biodiversity Conservation Federation (BBCF), which works with wildlife, and president of the Kanaipukur bird colony in Joypurhat, told Jagonews24: "At about 11am we learned that a rare bird had been found sick in the Chakbarkat area of Joypurhat. We contacted the local forest department and advised them to take the bird and give it treatment. They went at midday and brought the bird back."

Local chairman Shajahan Ali told Jagonews24 that as soon as he heard about the rescue he informed the forest department, which came and took the bird away at midday.

Jahangir Kabir, a member of the team of the Rajshahi Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation division, told Jagonews24 that on getting the news, a two-member team including Joypurhat's acting forest officer S M Raihan Kabir went to the spot and brought the bird back. The bird is sick, and a team has set off from Rajshahi for Joypurhat to treat it, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.