Four hundred and sixty parrots perished in one night in an Indian town after a large tree, where they had taken shelter, was battered by a severe hailstorm.<br /><br />Unprecedented hailstorm struck parts of Maharashtra creating havoc last month.<br /><br />Eyewitnesses said hails as big as the size of lemons rained from the sky on the night of February 13 at Tumsar in Bhandara district.<br /><br />The parrots, which had taken shelter at an old peepal tree near a temple died, unable to take the blows. <br /><br />Local residents woke up to the heartrending sight of the hundreds of dead birds lying under the tree.<br /><br />Six parrots, which had survived the mayhem were taken to a local veterinary hospital, where two of them survived. <br /><br />Many vehicles, which had been parked in the open, were also damaged by the hailstorm. <br /><br />Animal rights activists said climate change triggered by deforestation had led to unpredictable weather in the arid region.<br /><br />''The hail storm could have caused physical injury to the birds and sent them into a state of shock," said Dr Manilal Valliyate, CEO of PETA India, said.
