KARACHI, Nov 20: Another falcon and a houbara bustard of the birds detained by the Customs at the airport died on Sunday, taking the death toll to five falcons and two houbaras, it is learnt.

A team of the Sindh Wildlife Department visited the Customs office at the Karachi airport, where the rare and endangered species birds have been kept for nearly a week. The team examined the birds and was expected to visit the airport again on Monday.

A consignment of 82 falcons and six houbara bustards was brought to the airport by a member of the Qatari royal family, Sheikh Abdullah Rehman Al-Thani, who was carrying a diplomatic passport and intended to board a Qatar-bound flight along with it. However, he did not have the relevant documents covering the whole consignment and the birds were detained.

Responding to the Dawn queries on Sunday, Sindh Wildlife conservator Saeed Baloch said he was informed by his staff that the Customs had been approached to take the custody of the falcons and houbaras. He said: “I have sent a team to examine the birds. The team would report to me on Monday after which a decision regarding the birds would be taken.”

He said he would like that representatives of nongovernmental organisations, the media etc were present when the birds would be released.

He stressed that the birds, if in good health, would be released in the wild immediately. He said he was not sure about the health of the birds which had been in Customs captivity, which did not have expertise in handling the delicate creatures.