Over 50 bats found dead in Gorakhpur, carcasses sent for testing to IVRI, Bareilly
May 26, 2020
Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 26 : In a bizarre occurrence, several bats were found dead in Belghat town of Gorakhpur district on Tuesday. The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), however, stated that the death was likely caused by either heatstroke or pesticides.
The official added that samples of the bats were later sent for testing to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly.
"At around 9 am, we got the information that several bats were lying dead in the garden next to Radhaswami Satsang building in Belghat. We sent our Ranger Devendra Kumar at the site. 52 carcasses of bats were collected, out of which three have been sent for sample-testing," Avnish Kumar, Gorakhpur DFO said.
Kumar mentioned that the bats found lying under a mango tree hints towards the presence of pesticides.
He also cautioned against assuming that the death of the animals could be due to COVID-19.
"It is too soon to say that the death is linked to coronavirus. We need to wait for the postmortem results before we can reach any conclusion," the DFO said.
