Lesser flamingoes fly at Airoli Creek where 1,690 hectares of land between Airoli and Vashi bridges, along Thane Creek, have been declared a flamingo sanctuary. Pics / Sameer Markande

'Better late than never' best applies to Mumbai's Mangroves Cell when it concerns action on flamingo poachers. The state forest department has finally woken up to the need to preserve the wildlife of the city. Taking a serious note of the rising number of incidents of flamingo poaching for meat, the Mangroves Cell is in the midst of setting up beat chowkies at 10-odd locations within the flamingo sanctuary in Thane and across Thane Creek.