THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Nov 30: A female Malabar Hornbill was spotted most cheerfully by the forest guard Arun Kumar Singh and his trekker Raju Yadav early morning today when a bird survey was on today in the Palamu Tiger Reserve.
The female Malabar Hornbill was spotted in the Kach Harya jungle in the Bareysarn compartment 2 of the tiger reserve.
The bird surveying team of the PTR tries to tune in to the sound of the birds. It helps them to identify their species.
Water birds in the Kamaldah Jheel in the PTR do not disappear by doing so. They duck into the water only to resurface after a few meters from where they were last spotted in the water body.
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The size, colour, length of tail, beak, feather and sound of the birds are distinctive features which are taken into account on the bird survey day.
Arun is a dedicated forest guard. During the post-monsoon census of the wildlife, he had a mishap when bees bit him and two of his trackers Vijay Oraon and Gangeshwar Singh.
The experience of Chandan Kumar, a forest guard, was no less exciting. Chandan Kumar said during the post-monsoon census he and his team had a close encounter with a herd of 6 elephants, barely 25 meters away from where he and his team was.
“The elephants did not do us any harm nor did we trouble them anymore,” he said.
Chandan Kumar said, “I have a rare experience of sighting Kotras for three successive days at three different locations.”
PTR, north division, Deputy Director P K Jena said, “Today we carried out a bird survey. But we hope to go for it again sometime in January 2024.”
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On being told that there have been episodes of bird smuggling from the PTR like that of Parakeet and lark where bird catchers cum smugglers used to come from West Bengal and Bihar and indulge in this avian trade illegally, Jena said, “It will be looked into with a very firm dealing.”
Parakeet, known as parrot, is much in demand in West Bengal while lark has a tremendous local market. It comes here in the severe winter from Tibet.
If a Parakeet is seen as a harbinger of good fortune, a lark is seen as enhancing the body’s immune system to beat cold and its adverse bearings on health.
Sources said over the last eight years or so there has not been a significant strike against bird smuggling in the PTR. It is not that it is stopped. It’s very much there but remains undiscovered. Bird smuggling can be discovered by putting local youths on the job.
