Every other day we hear about some rare animal and bird species at the risk of being extinct. That saddens many of us who love nature and its exotic fauna. Preservation and conservation of such species are our responsibility. But many a times, we human beings, fail to realise that. One such bird species is the Amur Falcon, which has been threatened to be endangered.
But an inspirational story is in the news headline. Ramki Srinivasan, a wildlife photographer, quit his job to save Amur Falcon; a heroic act indeed.
The reason for terming Amur Falcon as endangered
Amur Falcon has been constantly hunted by the fishermen and the hunters. The birds migrate from South Russia and North China every yea during the winters. Nagaland is the temporary residence of the birds and is also their roosting spot. The birds travel almost a distance of 22,000 km to reach near the Doyang valley reservoir.
The birds have been under the threat of the poachers, who have been estimated to have hunted almost 140,000 birds in 2012 and in one season. This hunting on a massive scale has forced the International Union for Conservation of Nature to mark them as endangered. They are now under the protection of the Indian Wildlife Act, 1972 and the Convention on Migratory Species.
The Motivational story of conservation
The heart whelming news currently is, the poaching of the birds have stopped completely. The initiative by Ramki Srinivasan, a wildlife photographer from Bengaluru, has performed the miracle. He along with a team of conservationists, Bano Haralu and Roko Kuotsu from Nagaland, and Shashank Dalvi, a wildlife biologist from Mumbai, have conducted an indeed heroic act to save the bird.
Ramki left his job to pursue this noble initiative. While being asked about his work, he stated that, “I remember being fascinated by birds in school and pursued my interest through documentaries, books and binoculars”.
He also added, “Before this, I was in the corporate world, and eventually became an entrepreneur. In 2008, I returned to my passion – wildlife. I started in Bengaluru, which was the hub of bird photographers, and was quick to hop on the bandwagon. I started wildlife photography with my friend Shashank".
The Immense contribution by Ramki and team
Ramki and team performed lot of studies and analysis to find out the reason behind the extinction of the birds. They observed that the birds were hunted and skinned either for trade or as food delicacies. Though the government had declared a ban on hunting and killing of Amur Falcon, but the poaching activity continued.
The team started running campaigns on the need for conservation and the best practices to be adopted and followed. To pursue this initiative, Ramki established CI, the Conservation of India. The organisation formed the norms, case studies or use cases, and learnings and is currently the largest conservation portal in India.
Disappointed to learn about 1 lakh birds being hunted ruthlessly, Ramki said, “The investigation revealed that every house was involved in hunting, which was a lucrative business to earn quick profits during the winters. However, the impoverished fishermen were unaware of the massive harm they were doing to the environment”.
As part of their research work, the team took several photographs and submitted to the district commissioner in the year 2012. Besides, their findings were made public through news channels and social media. Local authorities were thus pressurised to force strict directives in banning the hunting and even legal action against the rule violators.
The Transformation
Ramki felt that a long term solution was needed for the problem in hand. He started a second initiative called the Friends of the Amul Falcon. The objective of the group is to ask for funds and grants for different organisations and to create awareness among children on the preservation and conservation of the birds.
Slowly, the local hunters and fishermen transformed and started helping in saving the birds. They kept strict vigil to prevent poaching and even rescued birds in danger. Glad with the transformation, Ramki mentioned, “It is great to see that cooperation of the locals has helped to protect the world’s largest roosting site of the birds”.
Such heroic acts are worthy of praise and great accolades. Leaving the comfort of a job and embarking into an initiative to save the wildlife is indeed valiant.
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