MUMBAI, Dec 6, 2008 (AFP) - Thousands of pigeons that flew the coop as Islamist militants and Indian security forces battled for almost three days at Mumbai landmarks last week have begun returning.

Pigeons that were a constant presence around the Taj Mahal and Trident/Oberoi hotels and Mumbai's main railway terminus disappeared for more than a week after the November 26 attacks that turned the city's southern
peninsula into a battleground.

To the delight of bird lovers and tourists, many of whom feed the birds, the pigeons have begun to return to the vast plaza in front of the Taj, and to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Mumbai Mirror said.

The attack killed 163 people including 26 foreigners. Nine militants were killed, while one was captured alive.

The Mirror quoted Yuvraj Kaginkar, hospital manager for the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, saying he had found some pigeons with injuries that must have been sustained during the siege.

Travelling with his ambulance to sites taken by the militants, he found "a lot of pigeons with injuries to their head, wings, feet and some fractures," he said.

Constant blasts had forced pigeons that roosted in the hotels to keep circling, unable to eat, for three days, he said.

The Times of India said 15,000 pigeons were fed daily opposite the Taj, and quoted an animal activist saying grain had been put down to attract the birds back.

Newspapers also reported that Johnny, a stray dog fed regularly by an elderly local woman, had returned to the Gateway of India monument opposite the Taj.

Many of India's 1.1 billion people are animal lovers, believing animals, like humans, possess souls.