Bengaluru's Manja Menace: 790 Birds Injured in 2025, Black Kites Worst Hit

The festive joy of kite flying during Sankranti in Bengaluru casts a long, dark shadow on the city's avian population. Each year, hundreds of birds fall victim to 'manja'—the banned, deadly glass and nylon-coated kite string—turning a cultural tradition into a recurring wildlife emergency.

A Soaring Crisis: Rescue Numbers Tell the Tale

Data from the city's People for Animals (PfA) Wildlife Hospital reveals a disturbing and persistent trend. Rescue cases related to manja injuries have skyrocketed from 102 in 2019 to a staggering 790 in 2025. The problem intensifies between January and April, coinciding with the kite-flying season and the fledging period for many birds.

"In 2025, January recorded 85 cases, February 87, March 76, and April 77—accounting for nearly 40% of the year's total rescues," stated Col Dr Navaz Shariff, General Manager and Chief Wildlife Veterinarian at PfA Wildlife Hospital. He explained that emergency calls surge daily during these months as birds and bats collide with the nearly invisible strings crisscrossing rooftops, roads, and open spaces.

Urban Raptors Bear the Brutal Impact

Species-wise data highlights that urban birds of prey are suffering the most. Black kites are the worst affected, with 422 injury cases recorded in 2025 alone. They are followed by house crows (147), pigeons (44), barn owls (38), and jungle crows (32). The rescue list also includes egrets, herons, parakeets, owlets, and fruit bats.

"Many of these birds get entangled while flying at dusk or night, when nylon or glass-coated strings are the hardest to detect," Dr. Shariff told TOI. Over the years, PfA has treated more than 11,000 injured black kites, cementing their status as the most vulnerable species in the city. Conservationists note that young, inexperienced birds are particularly at risk during this season.

Ban Flouted, Specialised Treatment Deployed

Despite a state ban that permits only plain cotton thread for kite flying, illegal nylon and glass-coated manja remains widely available during festivals. These strings inflict horrific injuries, including slit wings, deep cuts, fractured bones, and permanent disabilities. The danger is not limited to wildlife; several cases of severe neck lacerations in humans have also been reported in Bengaluru.

To combat this, the PfA Wildlife Hospital employs a specialised technique called imping (feather implantation). This process replaces broken or missing feathers with naturally shed ones from the same species, drastically cutting rehabilitation time from months to days—sometimes just 24 hours. More than 1,000 birds have been released back into the wild using this method recently.

Supporting this effort is a community-driven Feather Bank, where volunteers collect naturally fallen feathers from parks, rooftops, and school grounds. The hospital also uses interlocking poles to rescue birds stranded 80-120 feet high and runs the "Kite vs Kites" campaign to educate citizens about the dangers of Chinese manja to all life.

Manja Rescue Cases in Bengaluru (PfA Data):