Assam Biologists educate villagers on bird conservation

Kamrup, Nov 2 (ANI): Biologists in Assam are making the villagers aware about the importance of birds with the objective of increasing their numbers in near future.

Efforts are being made by the local population to protect the endangered Greater Adjutant Stork birds as they are presumed to be on the verge of extinction.

Purnima Devi Barma, a biologist attached with a non- government organisation, said it was a challenging task to educate villagers on the subject, as they were told about the disadvantage of cutting trees on which the Greater Adjutant storks made their nests.

She added that as this particular bird was carnivorous and fed mainly on garbage and offal, the locals considered it unclean. It took a lot of tutoring to explain to villagers the value of these endangered birds.

"The nests of these birds are near villages, in the non-protected areas and on the private land of people. So, problem is that people think it's a non-hygienic bird and that is a hurdle towards conservation. Our role here is to explain it to them that they should treat these birds like their children as they only visit this place for six months," said Barma.

Barma also said that the local administration provided them with all kinds of assistance and added that it was important that the government and the NGO jointly worked towards devising a plan that was aimed at protecting the endangered species.

"They (government) should take steps, and even NGOs like us and institutions can help the government. We all should sit down and come out with a conservation action plan. We should discuss what could be done practically. I am sure it will help conservation and the population of the bird would increase," said Barma.

The global population of the Greater Adjutant stork is likely to be around 900-1,000, with the Bramhaputra region alone consisting of about 700 of them.

The Greater Adjutant is listed as an endangered bird on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species.

This large stork has an enormous wedge-shaped beak, a bare head and a characteristic neck pouch.

It can be spotted foraging about in shallow lakes and rubbish dumps, and is regularly sighted with other carnivorous birds like kites and vultures. (ANI)