Bird that flew 6,900km from Finland to Bondo, Siaya dies

By , K24 Digital
On Mon, 27 Jan, 2020 19:27 | < 1 min read
A rare migratory bird has landed in Kenya after flying a distance of 6,948 kilometers from Finland. [PHOTO | K24 DIGITAL]
A rare migratory bird has landed in Kenya after flying a distance of 6,948 kilometers from Finland. [PHOTO | K24 DIGITAL]
A rare migratory bird has landed in Kenya after flying a distance of 6,948 kilometers from Finland. [PHOTO | K24 DIGITAL]

The ringed Osprey bird that was rescued in Siaya County after flying over 6,900 kilometers from Finland has died.

According to a press release from the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), the four-year old migratory bird died over the weekend while under the care of the KWS veterinarians at their licensed raptor rehabilitation center in Karen, Nairobi.

In the press released on Monday, the KWS Communication Director Paul Udoto said that they lost the bird despite all the efforts that were being made to rehabilitate it so that it could be released back into the wild.

He said that a postmortem examination conducted on the bird attributed its death to long-term starvation which precipitated a systemic organic failure.

The ringed Osprey bird was rescued in Siaya County by a member of the public, Walter Oloo, who reported the matter to KWS offices in Siaya on January 20, 2020, before it was transported to Nairobi for rehabilitation.

He said that by the time the bird was brought to Nairobi, it was already dehydrated, weak and emaciated from the long flight and minor injuries while trapped by the fishing net.

 Mr. Udoto said that they were feeding and treating the fish-eating bird to bring it back to good health with plans to release it at the exact site where it was rescued in the Lake Victoria catchment.      

“We were planning to do that so that the bird doesn’t lose it bearing on the return epic flight Northwards in early March," said Mr Udoto.