Protecting Great Birds Of Beauty India's one and only peacock
sanctuary strives to survive in challenging times Everyone in
the small village of Naigaon in the Beed district of Maharashtra
remembers well the many legends of Mathersaheb Dev. This holy
man, who lived about 100 years ago, was famous for his love and
care of wild peacocks. He lavished such abundant affection upon
these beautiful birds that a growing number of them took up
residence around his humble cottage. Even though a few of them
sometimes wandered onto local farms to dine on standing crops,
farmers were more than willing to overlook the damage they did.
Such was their respect for Mathersaheb Dev and his benevolent
love. Over time, the saint's gracious attitude toward the
peacocks was adopted by most of the surrounding community. Eight
years ago, long after the passing of Mathersaheb Dev, the
residents of that small town were still providing extraordinary
care for the wild peacocks in the area; and in response, the
Central Government of India