Manipur-tagged Amur Falcon 'Chiuluan2' reaches South Africa
"Unfortunately, Gwangram, another satellite-tagged female falcon, has not been transmitting signals since December.";
The migratory bird had reached its first stopover site in Somalia in five days and 17 hours after flying nonstop and crossing the Arabian Sea in November last year.
Imphal, Jan 6: One of the two satellite-tagged Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis), 'Chiuluan2,' named after a village in Manipur's Tamenglong district, reached South Africa on Saturday.
Confirming this, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist R. Suresh Kumar, who is monitoring the bird's migratory route, on Sunday said, "Chiuluan2 has arrived in South Africa (on January 4) after crossing the Kalahari Desert."
"Unfortunately, Gwangram, another satellite-tagged female falcon, has not been transmitting signals since December," Kumar added.
The migratory bird had reached its first stopover site in Somalia in five days and 17 hours after flying nonstop and crossing the Arabian Sea in November last year.
The Manipur forest department, WII team, and local people released the two Amur Falcons, the world's longest-travelling birds, Chiuluan2 and Gwangram, on November 8 last year after radio-tagging them with satellite transmitters to study the route of the migratory birds and the environmental patterns from Tamenglong. The Chiuluan2 is a male Amur Falcon, while Gwangram is a female falcon.
Chiuluan and Guangram are the names of two roosting villages of Amur falcons in Manipur's Tamenglong district.
Kumar further informed that the (South Africa) region where the said migratory bird Chiuluan2 arrived on Saturday is technically known as the African Veldts and is located about 360 km west of Johannesburg.
Radio-tagging of Amur falcons was taken up for the first time in Tamenglong district in November 2018.
Two falcons were radio-tagged in that year, followed by five birds in 2019, in an effort to spread wildlife conservation awareness, Forest officials of Tamenglong said.
Amur Falcons are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. They spend summers at their breeding grounds in southeast Russia and northeast China.
The falcons migrate to their wintering grounds in Africa. 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 Northeast and Somalia.
The pigeon-sized raptors, known as 'Akhuaipuina' in Manipur, arrive in October in the Northeast and leave the region in November after having enough food for their non-stop flight to Africa, where they spend their winters.
By-
Correspondent
