Smiles Fade For Coco’s Pet Parents As Forest Dept Seizes Parrot A Day After Family Reunion

Trouble didn't seem to lessen for the pet parents of ‘Coco’ when a team of Forest officials reached their house in Madhusudan Nagar of Tulasipur in Cuttack on Tuesday and confiscated the parrot a day after it was reunited with the family.

‘Coco’ an Alexandrine Parakeet, which has been raised by Professor Sasmita Behera since the past one year, was traced by a Bhubaneswar resident on Monday, 12 days after it went missing, who returned it to the pet parents in Cuttack.

After the news about the reunion of the pet parrot with the family hit headlines, the Forest officials reached Behera's house on Tuesday and confiscated the bird. 

Coco created a buzz in Cuttack and hit the headlines after its pet parents announced prize money of Rs 5, 000 for informing about their beloved missing bird. 

As per reports, Behera adopted the bird about a year ago and named it Coco. Behera cared for the bird, like her own child. The human parents of the avian species had gained its trust and it felt safe to move around in the house instead of being locked up in a cage, reports stated. 

However, recently Coco got frightened after seeing some masked persons at their home. The frightened bird flew away and didn't return for several days. Failing to trace Coco, Behera announced the prize money and even put up 'missing posters' in several places across the city. Moreover, she also distributed leaflets and released advertisements of the missing parrot in newspapers, with hopes of getting helped by someone in tracing Coco.

On Monday, Coco was found in a distressed condition after going missing for 12 days. A family from Bhubaneswar's Kesura found Coco and returned it to the pet parent. Behera and her family members were elated after Coco returned. 

However, their happiness didn't last long as the Forest department sleuths came calling on receiving the information.

Behera, who has developed a close bond with Coco, tried to keep custody of her pet parrot by valiantly opposing the Forest department move. However, she finally gave up.

Meanwhile, animal activists have raised concerns over the chances of the bird surviving in the wild as it has been raised in captivity since childhood. The birds kept in captivity for a long time lose the tendency to take flight. 

Moreover, activists like Purabi Patra of Animal Welfare Trust Ekamra (AWTE) have also inquired about the rehabilitation plan for the bird by the Forest department as there are no aviary facilities in Bhubaneswar or Cuttack.