Pit stop in Northeast: Manipur district bans airguns as migratory birds arrive
- October 30, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Pit stop in Northeast: Manipur district bans airguns as migratory birds arrive-
Subject: Environment
Context-
- With the arrival of the Amur falcon, the longest-flying migratory bird, the Tamenglong district administration in Manipur has banned airguns and directed them to be deposited with village authorities.
- Hunting, catching, killing and selling the bird is also prohibited.
More on the news-
- The period was crucial in the life cycle of the Amur falcon as the migratory bird usually arrives in many parts of the Northeast, including Tamenglong in the second week of October and is likely to roost till the end of November 2022.
- Regular patrolling and awareness programmes have been started as the migratory birds reportedly began arriving in the first week of October this time.
About Amur falcon-
- Amur falcons, the world’s longest-travelling raptors start travelling with the onset of winter.
- The raptors breed in southeastern Siberia and northern China, and migrate in millions across India and then over the Indian Ocean to southern Africa before returning to Mongolia and Siberia.
- They get their name from the Amur River which forms the border between Russia and China.
- Their 22,000-kilometre migratory route is one of the longest among all avian species.
- Locally known as Akhuipuina, the bird arrives mainly in Manipur and Nagaland on its southbound migration.
- The one-way journey via India is about 20,000 km long and the birds do this twice a year. They spend three-four weeks in many parts of Manipur to build fat reserves by preying on termites that emerge around this time.
- Doyang Lake in Nagaland is better known as a stopover for the Amur falcons during their annual migration from their breeding grounds to warmer South Africa. Thus, Nagaland is also known as the “Falcon Capital of the World”.
Conservation status-
- The birds are the least concern under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
- The species is protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), to which India is a signatory (which means it is mandatory to protect the birds).
Steps taken for their conservation-
- Banning of airguns by Manipur government.
- Hunting of the birds or possessing their meat is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to Rs 5,000.
- In 2018, the forest department started a conservation programme by radio-tagging the birds to study their migratory route.
- The following year, a five-member team of scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India tagged five Amur falcons in collaboration with the department and locals.