Night flying deadly for Flamingos

Winged visitors crash into cables as they fly migration routes in dark

For some winged visitors a journey of over 2,000 km from Siberia comes to a deadly end just when they swoop in to land in the shallow waters of Kutch. Electric wires char their feathers and even result in death. This phenomenon has been documented in a study ‘Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat by Anika Tere, now with MS University and B M Parasarya of Agriculture University Anand. The study published in the last week of November2011, revealed that the flamingoes who are known to fly at night and in low light collide with the near invisible overhead wires because of the negligible reaction time to make evasive maneuvers. The study also concluded that freshly dead flamingos were found in the morning hours suggesting that these overhead wires are not visible at night and in the dark hours of late evenings or early morning. The study also points out that along the international border, the presence of the electrified barbed wire fence and the electricity lines powering the fence as well as villages on the frontiers make formidable obstructions to the birds. The study takes note of a soldier’s narration of how flamingos get trapped in the electric fence on the international border. The study further reveals that compared to the large population of flamingos and other factors causing mortality the mortality caused by collision with high tension wires is low. The incidences of collision with utility structures in these parts of Gujarat have remained unnoticed. Flamingos visiting the Rann of Kutch during their breeding season are exposed to such wires only for a short period of the year however, at other feeding sites such as salt pans and the sewage ponds of urban areas like Bhavnagar and Jamnagar they continuously face the risk of collision as they spend more time there. Courtesy:- Times Of India.

‘They are small but can easily outrun a jeep’

While the focus is on the Kathiwarl and Marwari horses, another species which is fighting its own battle for survival is the Indian Wild Ass (also referred to as Khur). Its range once extended from Western India, through Sindh and Baluchistan,
Afghanistan and south eastern Iran. Today, its last refuge lies in the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch and its surrounding areas of the Greater Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Wild Ass however, is also seen in the districts of Surendranagar, Banaskantha, Mehsana, and other Kutch districts. Saline desert, Grassland in Arid Zone and Shrub land are its preferred homeland. Wild Ass, like the lion of Gir is an endangered species and all efforts are being made to preserve it.

During 1958-1960, the Wild Ass was a victim of a disease known as surra, caused by Trypanosome evansi and transmitted by flies, which caused dramatic decline of its population in India. In November and December 196l, the Wild Ass population was reduced to just 870 after to the out break of South African Horse Sickness. Besides disease, the Ass’s other threats include habitat degradation due to salt activities and encroachment. Conservation efforts since 1969 have helped boost the animal’s population to 4000.

“They are well protected now and the state government is putting lot of efforts to preserve this rare species and the number has now increased to 4000 in the last count last year,” said Muzahid Malik of Rann Raiders, “They may look small but they can run faster than Kathiwadi and Marwari horses,” he added

It is one of the fastest of Indian animals with speeds clocked at about 70-80 km/ph and can easily outrun a jeep.

SOME CHARACTERISTICS

* Stallions live either solitarily or in small groups of two sand threes while family herds remain large.
* Wild asses graze between dawn and dusk. The animal feeds on grass, leaves and fruits of plant, crop and saline vegetation.
* Mating season is in rainy season. The mare gives birth to one foal, the male foal weans away by 1-2 years of age, while the female continues to stay with the family herd.


Courtesy:- Times Of India, Monday, January 3, 2011.