News > Winged messengers: how first-class pigeons help police keep Indians safe

Winged messengers: how first-class pigeons help police keep Indians safe

In India’s eastern state of Odisha, police are working hard to preserve an older practice, carrier pigeons. Used to carry messages between stations in remote regions and keep in touch with police units on the move, the police pigeons of Odisha also proved to be the only dependable method of communication during devastating floods in 1982 and a 1999 super-cyclone that caused widespread destruction in the coastal state. Indeed, the handlers say pigeon posts helped save many lives.