Black kite falls on Delhi Metro tracks due to exhaustion, dehydration; rescued

A black kite which had fallen on Delhi Metro tracks due to exhaustion and dehydration and was in danger of being run over by a train was rescued by a wildlife body, officials said Thursday. According to Wildlife SOS, the incident occurred on Wednesday night, when the kite, "escaped a narrow brush with death after collapsing on tracks between Botanical Gardens and Okhla Bird Sanctuary metro stations of the Magenta Line". It had collapsed on the tracks, due to exhaustion and dehydration from heat, the NGO said in a statement. The bird was kept under observation for a few hours and later safely released into the wild, it said.

According to the MeT Department, the day temperature in Delhi on Wednesday had settled at 38.7 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average. "According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials, a train operator saw the bird stranded on the tracks. And, knowing that it was in danger of being run over, the authorities immediately contacted Wildlife SOS," the statement said. Metro services on the Magenta Line were temporarily affected, during the rescue operation, it said. Last year, the NGO rescued an Indian cormorant that was caught in a similar situation at the Kalindi Kunj Metro station.

(With inputs from agencies.)