Irang, Chiulon return to Puching after 361 days

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Oct 28 : Satellite tagged amur falcons, Chiulon and Irang have reached their stopover site at Irang river bank near Puching safely after 361 days.
The Forest Department in association with Wildlife Institute of India fitted satellite radio transmitters on 5 Amur Falcons including Chiulon and Irang at Puching village in Tamenglong district to study their migratory route last year in the last week of October and first week of November respectively last year. The other three radio tagged Amur Falcons were named as Barak, Phalong and Puching but contact with them has been lost.
With Chiulon and Irang successfully making it to the site in Puching, Dr Suresh Kumar of Wildlife Institute of India maintained that it will be a day worth remembering for Manipur will be one included on the wildlife conservation map for the measures taken up to ensure safety of migratory birds.
The people of Puching village should also be proud of their contributions in conserving the bird and it will further raise awareness about the bird, said Dr Suresh Kumar while asserting that Irang and Chiulon were fitted with sattelite radio transmitters on October 31 and November 1 respectively.
Irang which has reportedly covered a total distance of 29,000 km, is a female Amur Falcon while Chiulon is a male and has so far covered 33,000 km.
Both the transmitters fitted on the birds are still active, the scientist said.
He further maintained that Irang managed it to Puching at around 10 am today after Chiulon had reached the site at 6.30 pm on October 26.
DFO Tamenglong, on learning about the successful return of the two birds, told The Sangai Express that it is indeed a historic day for Manipur and Puching village to receive the birds.
The stopover site of these birds shift from time to time, the DFO said while adding that these amur falcons had not visited Valok village in Tamenglong which has been also named as Amur Falcon Village for the past three years. It may be noted that the amur falcons during the whole journey passed South Africa, Northern China, Thailand, Laos and parts of North East India as stopover sites.