News
No breakthrough: Mystery continues over the missing macaw
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
Investigations into the theft of a macaw from the Dehiwala Zoo ten days ago have so far yielded no results, National Zoological Gardens Director General Dr. Chandana Rajapaksa told the Sunday Times.
He said the investigators had yet to identify the person who entered the macaw cage on the night of June 4 to steal the bird. The theft came to light the following morning when an animal keeper noticed the cage’s padlock was broken, although the cage remained closed with no bird inside.
Dr Rajapaksa said zoo officials handed over the CCTV footage to the Dehiwala police after filing a complaint to assist investigators in identifying the suspect.
Children look on at the enclosed area for macaw . Pic by Akila Jayawardena
“If the thief is caught, we would take legal action against the culprit under criminal law and the Public Property Act,” he said.
The Sunday Timeshas learned that although someone broke into the cage, there were no signs of a struggle or scattered feathers. Moreover, the cage was shut after the theft.
Dr. Chandana Rajapaksa
Some sources said they believed the incident could be an act of sabotage or a deliberate action with a sinister motive by someone familiar with entering cages and who had studied the location.
According to them, the theft of the macaw bore some similarities to the disappearance of a blue parakeet from the zoo three years ago. Later, a couple handed over a pair of blue parakeets to the zoo, claiming they had found them in their garden, even though the zoo had lost only one parakeet.
Another similar incident occurred in 2014, when an albino cobra was stolen and found inside a cloth bag four days later.
Dehiwala police said investigations are still ongoing.
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