On February 26, 2021, three toucans went missing from Alipore Zoo, Kolkata. According to a zoo official, the three people who were in charge of the security of the birds have been sacked. 

An FIR (First Information Report) has also been lodged by the authorities concerned at the Watgunge police station.

Toucans are a member of passerine bird family, Ramphastidae. They are species of tropical South American bird with bright feathers and a very large beak. The birds were kept in a separate enclosure said the Director of the Alipore Zoo, A K Samanta.

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“Our guards found on Thursday morning that the iron net of the enclosure was cut open and the toucans were missing, he said.

A ladder was found kept against the boundary wall adjacent to Orphangunj Road near the toucan’s enclosure, a police officer said adding that an improvised bird catching net was also seized from the spot.

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Police have collected CCTV footage of the zoo and its authority has constituted an internal committee to probe the theft.

The police suspect involvement of zoo insiders in the incident.

The three exotic birds were among the four rescued by the BSF (Border Security Force) last year while they were being trafficked, Samanta added.