NewsThey killed 5 million birds. Swarms like locusts

They killed 5 million birds. Swarms like locusts

The Tanzanian authorities had to take drastic action and kill millions of quelea birds. This was done to protect the rice fields, which are the target of their attacks.

KISUMU, KENYA - JANUARY 15: A flock of red-billed quelea fly over a mist net farmers erected to help catch birds and stop them from destroying crops on January 15, 2023 in Kisumu, Kenya. Kenyan authorities began aerial spraying of pesticides to control the red-billed quelea bird invasion in the western region of the country. With an estimated adult breeding population of at least 1.5 billion Red-billed quelea are the most numerous bird in the world, and the FAO estimates the global agricultural losses attributable to the quelea are in excess of 50 million USD annually. A flock of two million can devour as much as 20 tons of grain in a single day. (Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)

Images source: © GETTY | Luke Dray

ed. MUP

Sep 29, 2023 | updated: 9:14 AM EDT, October 5, 2023

Using drones and airplanes to monitor commercial farms, Tanzania has culled 5 million quelea birds in the northern Manyara region, where about 1000 acres of rice fields were at risk, as reported on Wednesday by the national agricultural supervisory body.

"We have killed swarms of five million destructive birds, and now we are monitoring other zones," Joseph Ndunguru, the acting director-general of the Tanzanian Plant Health and Pesticide Office TPHPA told AFP, who is also responsible for combating the desert locust.

According to TPHPA, birds are capable of destroying over 50 tons of crops in a single day. Ndunguru said that the agency attacked the swarms with aerial sprays for four days, killing them before they damaged the rice fields in Northern Tanzania. He added that aerial surveillance is currently being conducted in other regions.

It is believed that the Quelea birds are the most numerous bird species in the world. Governments throughout Africa have taken airborne and ground efforts in the past to stop them. Sometimes they are called "the flying locusts". Quelea move in large flocks, and their invasions usually occur at the beginning of the dry season in September and October.

Source: news24.com