OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: A rare and elusive bird -- the 'White-Bellied Heron' -- wasspotted at Walong in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh recently. Walong is around 557 kilometers from here.
The bird was spotted and photographed by Anjaw DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) Santosh Kumar Reddy, Range Forest Officer Nosing Pul and scientist Dekbin Yonggam earlier this month.
The species is categorized as 'critically endangered' in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data Book and is listed as Schedule IV in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It is one of the rarest birds in the world and is at found only in Bhutan, Myanmar and the 'Namdapha Tiger Reserve' in Arunachal Pradesh. It was also recorded (in camera-trap images) in the adjacent 'Kamlang Tiger Reserve' of Lohit district.
The presence of nesting sites within this area is a positive sign for future habitat of the avian species as the breeding season of the 'White-Bellied Heron' starts from February and lasts till June.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests R.K. Singh said that it is great news that the critically-endangered bird is establishing new habitats beyond its traditional range. "This itself epitomizes the positive health of the forest ecosystem in this biodiversity-rich State," he added. Chief Wildlife Warden, G. Kumar said, "It is a good sign for the rare bird to appear in the pristine forest areas of Arunachal." Kumar added that a team comprising scientists from the State's Forest department along with those from reputed national institutions like the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata would soon carry out a joint field research to find out ways to conserve the future prospects of the rare and globally threatened bird.