Imphal, Nov 23: One of the two satellite-tagged Amur falcons (Falco amurensis), 'Chiuluan 2' named after a village in Tamenglong district that reached his first stopover site in Somalia after crossing the Arabian Sea, is now near the Somalia-Kenya border. Confirming this, the Wild-life Institute of India (WII) scientist R Suresh Kumar, who is monitoring the bird's migratory route on Friday, said, "Chiuluan 2, who set out on his nonstop onwards journey from Guhagar (a town under Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra) on Sunday morning around 10.30 am, reached Somalia on Tuesday around 7 pm (India time), and the bird is near the Somalia-Kenya border on Friday." On the other hand, Guangram, another satellite-tagged female falcon, is still in Tamenglong district, Dr. Suresh Kumrar said.
On November 8, the Manipur Forest Department, in association with the WII team and villagers, released two Amur falcons, the world's longest-travelling birds, named 'Chiuluan 2' (male bird) and 'Guangram' (female bird), after radio-tagging them with satellite transmitters to study the route of the migratory birds and the environmental patterns along the route from Tamenglong district.
Chiuluan and Guangram are two roosting villages of Amur falcons in Tamenglong district. The Forest Department and WII team also released nine other Amur falcons ringed with BNHS rings from C58352 to C58362 on the same day (November 8), wherein Chiuluan 2 and Guangram were also released. Such a radio-tagging programme of Amur falcons was taken up for the first time in Tamenglong district in November 2018, followed by another radio-tagging programme of five birds in 2019.
The Amur falcons, which are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, spend their summers on their breeding grounds in south-east Russia and north-east China. They migrate to their wintering grounds in South Africa, from where they start their return journey in April-May through Afghanistan and East Asia, undertaking a yearly journey of about 20,000 km.
In between, they stop in India's North East and Somalia. In their journey, these pigeon-sized raptors, locally known as 'Akhuaipuina', arrive in large numbers around October in Nagaland and Manipur, and a few other places in North East India. They leave the region in November after having enough food for their non-stop flight to Africa, where they spend their winters.
As part of the State Forest Department's continuous efforts to protect these migratory birds with the support of the local bodies and villagers during its stay in Tamenglong Forest, the 9th Amur Falcon Festival was also held at Tamenglong headquarters, 150 km west of Imphal, on Thursday with a number of wildlife conservation events.
By-
Correspondent
