Braving The Winter Chill, 10 Year Old M Priyobarta Bested Poachers
School boy dedicates 20 days to save rare owl chicks
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 14 2012:
Ten year old Moirangthem Priyobarta Meitei braved the winter's chill twice a day for twenty days at a hill range in Manipur's Thoubal district to protect five eggs of the rare Eastern Grass Owl from poachers and other wild animals in Manipur's Thoubal district.
Now the eggs have hatched and the baby owls are safe and currently taken care of by the People For Animals (PFA) at Thoubal district headquarters.
A standard IV student in a local private school, Priyobata of Khongjom area in the same district was herding his family's cattle at Langathel hill range about a month back when he sighted a mother owl hatching five eggs atop a heap of dry grass on the ground .
"As the area is frequented by poachers I never informed the presence of the owl to any villagers except my parents," said the young boy, who also owns a cow bought from his long-time saving amount.
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"Since then I had been watching over the eggs twice a day before and after school time for twenty days till they hatched," he said.
"On December 2 , I found some traps and nets kept by the poachers who probably knew presence of wild birds close to the spot.
As I feared the baby owls and their mother would be trapped or captured by the poachers soon , I brought the owl chicks home and informed the matter to PFA Thoubal, the same day," he said.
For twenty one days he concentrated on the chicks, said M Landhoni, mother of Priyobarta.
"On the same day (December 2) , we took the baby owls and kept them at our temporary enclosure.
Under the supervision of veterinary doctors and wild life experts we fed them with protein and nutrient supplements and they are very healthy," said PFA Thoubal managing trustee Lourembam Biswajit Meitei.
" Priyobrata has done a wonderful job.
To save the life of the rare owls which are incorporated in Schedule 4 under the Wild Life Protection Act from the hands of poachers, he dedicated his valuable time in safeguarding the lovely chicks before we took them," Biswajit said.
After attaining maturity, the five owls would be released in the wild after consulting with forest officials and wildlife experts, Biswajit added.