IMPHAL: Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist R. Suresh Kumar has reported that one of the two satellite-tagged Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis), named ‘Chiuluan2’ after a village in Manipur’s Tamenglong district, reached South Africa on Saturday after successfully crossing the Kalahari Desert.
The bird reached its first stopover in Somalia after an uninterrupted flight across the Arabian Sea, which it completed in five days and 17 hours. Kumar stated, "The region in South Africa where ‘Chiuluan2’ arrived on Saturday is technically known as the African Veldt and is located about 360 km west of Johannesburg.”
On November 8 last year, the Manipur forest department, in collaboration with residents, released two Amur falcons, ‘Chiuluan2’ and ‘Gwangram,’ after equipping them with satellite transmitters. The initiative aimed to study the birds' migratory routes and analyze environmental patterns from Tamenglong.
‘Chiuluan2’ is a male Amur falcon, while ‘Gwangram’ is a female. The names Chiuluan and Gwangram are derived from two roosting villages of the Amur falcons in Tamenglong. Kumar added, “Regrettably, Gwangram, the other satellite-tagged female falcon, has not transmitted any signals since December 13.”
The radio-tagging program for Amur falcons was first introduced in Tamenglong in November 2018 and expanded in 2019 with five more birds. Officials stated, “In 2018, two falcons named ‘Tamenglong’ and ‘Manipur’ were radio-tagged, followed by five more in 2019, named ‘Chiuluan,’ ‘Puching,’ ‘Phalong,’ ‘Irang,’ and ‘Barak,’ to promote awareness about wildlife conservation.”
Amur falcons, known as the world's longest-traveling birds, are safeguarded under the Wildlife Protection Act. They breed in southeast Russia and northeast China during the summer before migrating to their wintering habitats in Africa.
Their annual migration spans approximately 20,000 km, passing through Afghanistan and East Asia. During this journey, they make stops in northeast India and Somalia.
The pigeon-sized raptors, locally referred to as Akhuaipuina, arrive in the northeast, including Nagaland and Manipur, in October. After feeding sufficiently to fuel their non-stop journey to Africa, they depart the region in November and spend the winter there.
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