January 3, 2005:
Siberian cranes not spotted for third consequetive year
MRITYUNJAY BOSE
MUMBAI: For the third consequetive year, the majestic Siberian cranes, which have been arriving since ages at Bharatpur in Rajasthan, were not spotted this year.
The last time a pair was spotted was in 2001 at the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, when they flew over Afghanistan and arrived here in spite of bombing raids by US fighter jets to oust the erstwhile Taliban regime, during the month of October 2001 after the September 11 kamikaze.
That the "globally threatened and critically endangered" birds were not seen this year -- for the third time in a row -- was confirmed by Zafar-ul Islam, the Projects Manager of Important Bird Areas (IBA) of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) here.
Siberian cranes or Great White cranes (scientific name -- Grus leucogeranus) used to arrive in India for wintering and earlier flocks were seen arriving since October and they used to leave for their homeland during March-April. In fact, in 1965 at Bharatpur over 200 Siberian cranes were seen, but in 1993 only five of them could be spotted.
In 1994 and 1995, no birds of this variety were seen but in 1996, four of them were spotted. But in the late ninties only a couple of pairs were regularly spotted and in 2001, the last time, only a pair could be seen. Mr Islam attributes habitat loss as one of the prime reasons for the birds not being seen now. "Moreover, incidents of hunting of Siberian cranes have been reported over Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past," adds BNHS spokesperson Issac Kehimkar.
These birds traverse a distance over over 2,500 miles to escape the cold winters of Siberia. Mr Islam points out that these birds used to arrive in India flying over Russia, Kazakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and then to India. The Ab-i-Istada lake in Afghanistan was one of the stopover for these birds, which generally took around two months to reach India. Talking about the birds not arriving in India for the third consequetive year, Mr Kehimkar points out, "It is not a healthy situation. We need to do something about this."
The overall population of these birds currently stands between 2,900 and 3,000. Spread over 232 sq kms, the Keoladeo National Park supports 375 species of birds, numerous animals and reptiles and Siberian cranes have been the attraction for ornithologists worldover.
(This report appeared first in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)
Siberian cranes not spotted for third consequetive year
MRITYUNJAY BOSE
MUMBAI: For the third consequetive year, the majestic Siberian cranes, which have been arriving since ages at Bharatpur in Rajasthan, were not spotted this year.
The last time a pair was spotted was in 2001 at the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, when they flew over Afghanistan and arrived here in spite of bombing raids by US fighter jets to oust the erstwhile Taliban regime, during the month of October 2001 after the September 11 kamikaze.
That the "globally threatened and critically endangered" birds were not seen this year -- for the third time in a row -- was confirmed by Zafar-ul Islam, the Projects Manager of Important Bird Areas (IBA) of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) here.
Siberian cranes or Great White cranes (scientific name -- Grus leucogeranus) used to arrive in India for wintering and earlier flocks were seen arriving since October and they used to leave for their homeland during March-April. In fact, in 1965 at Bharatpur over 200 Siberian cranes were seen, but in 1993 only five of them could be spotted.
In 1994 and 1995, no birds of this variety were seen but in 1996, four of them were spotted. But in the late ninties only a couple of pairs were regularly spotted and in 2001, the last time, only a pair could be seen. Mr Islam attributes habitat loss as one of the prime reasons for the birds not being seen now. "Moreover, incidents of hunting of Siberian cranes have been reported over Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past," adds BNHS spokesperson Issac Kehimkar.
These birds traverse a distance over over 2,500 miles to escape the cold winters of Siberia. Mr Islam points out that these birds used to arrive in India flying over Russia, Kazakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and then to India. The Ab-i-Istada lake in Afghanistan was one of the stopover for these birds, which generally took around two months to reach India. Talking about the birds not arriving in India for the third consequetive year, Mr Kehimkar points out, "It is not a healthy situation. We need to do something about this."
The overall population of these birds currently stands between 2,900 and 3,000. Spread over 232 sq kms, the Keoladeo National Park supports 375 species of birds, numerous animals and reptiles and Siberian cranes have been the attraction for ornithologists worldover.
(This report appeared first in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)
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