Tansa
wildlife sanctuary is located in the Thane district of Maharashtra
about 90 Km away from the city of Mumbai. The sanctuary covering an
area of around 320 sq. km, is a home for many rare and endangered
species of flora and fauna. The flora in this sanctuary mainly
consists of southern tropical moist deciduous trees like Teak,
Khair, Kalamb and Bibla. Bamboo is also found in patches.
The
sanctuary provides ideal conditions for a variety of birds and
animals. Around 54 species of animals and 200 species of birds are
observed here. Major wild animals are Panther, Barking deer, Mouse
deer, Hyena, Wild boar etc. Major species of birds that can be seen
here consists of crested serpent eagles, Woodpeckers, Hornbills,
Owlets, Bayas, Bulbuls and many others.
In the
month of October 2014, Sunil Laad, a naturalist and former employee
of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) was roaming along with
companions, the Tansa sanctuary to looking for bird species. In a
part of the sanctuary that had a dry deciduous forest, with open
patches, he saw an unusual bird, an Owlet to be specific, sitting on
a dried branch of a tree. Beacuse of his association with BNHS, he
realised that it was no ordinary Owlet.
Spotted
Owlets (scientific name: Athene brama), also known as Spotted Little
Owl are commonly found in and around forests in India. But the bird,
which Sunil Laad had seen was markedly different from this species
and had unspotted crown, complete collar on breast, dark primaries
and broadly banded tail.
With
great excitement, Sunil Ladd concluded that the bird he was seeing
was none other than the Forest owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti), one of
the rarest and least-known of India’s endemic bird species that was
thought to be extinct for over 100 years. It was rediscovered in
1997 in Toranmal Reserve Forest near Shahada in the Satpuda ranges in
Nandurbar District, Maharashtra. Forest owlet’s preferred habitat
is the dry deciduous teak forests of the Narmada Valley in the
Satpuda ranges. It is now believed that a fragmented population of
between 100 and 250 forest owlets only is now left in the wild,
mainly because of the threats to then forests themselves. In addition
to that Owlets are subjected to serious threat as a result of local
superstitions like the eggs being collected by tribal people to bring
luck in gambling and killing the birds because they are believed to
feed on human souls. Killing a young owl is also widely considered to
boost fertility. On subsequent study tours to Tansa, visitors and
conservationists were absolutely delighted when they were greeted
with calls of the bird around seven km from the location, where it
was first seen.
The
forest owlet is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN
Red List. The forest owlet is now protected under Schedule I of the
Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, meaning that hunting or trapping of
the forest owlet in India is prohibited. The forest owlet is also
included on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES), making international trade in this
species illegal.
An
ornithologist who specializes on Forest Owlets says; "The
species was for long known to be endemic to the Satpuda ranges and
has now been recorded in the northern western ghats. This clearly
highlights the need to conserve crucial avian habitats, such as Tansa
and other areas, which are potential homes of the Forest Owlet."
Bombay
Natural History society is extremely delighted to know about the
discovery of this extremely rare bird so close to Mumbai and hope
that the authorities will take proper steps to protect the Forest
Owlets in Tansa.
3rd
December 2014
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