State gears up for welcoming its winged guests
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR
Imphal, October 10 2023:
Forest officials and animal lovers in Zeliangrong Naga dominated - Tamenglong district of Manipur are all set to welcome Amur falcons.
Along with putting in place various measures to protect the winged guests, the Tamenglong district administration has also put a ban on hunting, catching, killing and selling of the birds and firing of air guns during the raptors' roosting period.
The long-distance migratory birds usually arrive in Manipur, mostly in Tamenglong and neighbouring Nagaland in mid-October from their breeding grounds in South Eastern Siberia and Northern China, wildlife experts said.
After staying for around a little more than a month, the falcons, locally known as 'Akhuaipuina', depart the state and fly towards southern and eastern parts of Africa and roost a short time before moving towards their breeding grounds, they added.
Manipur Forest officials manning Tamenglong as well as Rainforest Club Tamenglong (RCT), a local animal lovers' unit have lined up a series of programmes to spread awareness among the villages for protecting and showing their love to the winged guest during their stay.
As done in the previous years, 'Amur Falcon Dance Festival' will be held by the forest authorities in collaboration with RCT next month.
"As part of our ensuing programme to safeguard Amur falcons, we will soon engage village volunteers for carrying out patrolling along with our own forest guards at the roosting sites to thwart any attempt to kill the birds", divisional forest officer (DFO) Tamenglong Amandeep said.
"This time, we are planning to tag satellite-transmitters on two healthy birds to study their migratory routes and for this purpose we have contacted scientists of Wildlife Institute of India (WII)", he conveyed.
There are also plans to write stories on the falcons by the villages and the same would be published, the officer added.
RCT secretary Ramhiamang Gonmei said that they would reach out to the youth in eluding college and school students by organising awareness campaign.
"Our members and volunteers are all ready to launch awareness programme in villages, colleges and schools to safeguard the falcons," he said, adding that they have selected the volunteers to join hands with forest guards to kick off patrolling at the roosting sites.
Most of the falcons usually roost in large numbers at the forested area along Barak and Irang rivers, he said.
A few days back, Tamenglong deputy commissioner Dr L Angshim Dangshawa, in view of the migratory birds' arrival, ordered a ban on killing, hunting, catching and hunting of the falcons under the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act 1972.It also ordered a ban on all air guns in the district and said that the villagers should deposit the air guns at the offices of their respective village authorities.
"The village authority concerned shall keep the air guns deposited in their custody until the last flock leave their roosting place or till November 2023", it said.
The measures to protect and safeguard the Amur Falcon as a joint initiative of the community along with the state Forest Department is a welcome development as similar effort in recent times successfully thwarted large-scale poaching of the migratory birds in the district by the then unaware villagers.
Comment
