PUNE: Clueless forest officials probing the deaths of as many as 28 peacocks in Ranjangaon near here were confronted by fresh finding of the bird plumage, suggestive of two more deaths, taking the toll in the last five days to 30.

The forest officer probing the episode that has baffled the villagers and bird lovers, D G Raut said that peacock feathers had been recovered at Shikrapur in the latest incident even as forensic test results on the viscera of the 28 dead peacocks were being awaited by the department.

About 50 km from here, Ranjangaon is known for a traditionally high population of peacocks as well as the famous Swayambhu Ganesh temple in Maharashtra. It made news when on August 22, villagers in the region discovered the bodies of 17 peacocks, followed by ten more the next day and another one on Sunday.

Deaths of 28 peacocks under mysterious circumstances prompted the Forest Department to launch an inquiry.

According to officials in charge of the inquiry ordered by Forest Minister Babanrao Pachpute who visited the spot, bottles of pesticides had been recovered from the fields where grains were strewn around apparently to feed peacocks who inhabit the adjacent forest.

The samples of grains, pesticides and water from the site too were being examined by forensic experts to determine the cause of deaths that have shocked the peacock-friendly villagers in the region.