Kenya was last week treated to a special visit by bird believed to have originated from Finland.
It landed in Usalo Village of Usenge Sub County, Siaya County. The bird was rescued by one Walter Oloo Tende who later presented it to the Kenya Wildlife Services branch in the county.
It was then referred to KWS headquarters in Nairobi who again moved it to Raptor Rehabilitation Centre in Karen for monitoring and feeding.
It was thereafter on Monday that the country was informed of the sad news on passing of the four-year old bird.
In an official statement, KWS said they lost the bird before it could be well to be released into the wild.
“We regret to announce the death of the rescued migratory Osprey bird despite all efforts to rehabilitate and eventually release it back into the wild,” the statement read.
After autopsy, it was established the bird died out of starvation. It was said to have been dehydrated and became weak and emaciated due to the long flight.
The bird covered more 6,000 Kilometres non-stop landing in Kenya amid fatigue.
The news of the Osprey’s demise hit Mr. Tende who rescued the bird expressing how deeply he had been gutted about the untimely death of the bird.
Photo: courtesy
“This was like a family member of family and it is a big loss for me. I had planned to travel to the city to see the bird,” he said.
The 72-year old Walter who is also a fisherman could not hide the grief in him, appearing to regret why he had let the bird to the KWS.
The bird which weighed between 950g and 1kg had been ringed in 2017 and was ready for mating.
Rituals according to Walter will be conducted by elders to send off the strange ‘guest’.