Hope for hornbill: State set to draft action plan to save ‘farmers of forest’
Times of India | 24 February 2024
Kolkata: Organizations, researchers, individuals specialising and interested in bird conservation and the state forest department have joined hands to prepare a conservation action plan for hornbills in north Bengal.
The state that leaps to mind when discussing hornbills is Nagaland due to the popularity of its annual Hornbill Festival. But, West Bengal has more species of the hornbills in north Bengal’s Buxa forest, Gorumara and Mahananda wildlife sanctuaries and Neora Valley National Park, adjoining territorial forests of Jalpaiguri, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Baikunthupur. The five types of hornbills that are found in north Bengal are oriental pied hornbill, great hornbill, rufous-necked hornbill, wreathed hornbill and Indian grey hornbill.
Hornbills are distinct with large bills, often with horn-like structures on top called casques. They have prominent long eyelashes and distinctive calls, often harsh and loud. They are known as “farmers of the forest” for their ability to disperse seeds over long distances.
“Of the five species found in Bengal, three — great, rufous-necked and wreathed hornbills — are globally threatened and listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on IUCN Red List. The conservation action plan attempts to chart out strategies to ensure that hornbill species in the region are protected,” said Arjan Basu Roy, principal investigator of the Hornbill Project of Nature Mates-Nature Club, in association with Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF.)
Aparajita Datta from NCF, who is also the co-chair of the IUCN Hornbill Specialist Group, pointed out that hornbills are indicators of the health of a forest ecosystem. Hornbills nest in already existing cavities of large trees and cannot make or build their own cavity. Hornbills also exhibit site fidelity with most pairs re-using the same cavity in the following breeding season. The pair selects a nest and cleans it together.
Nature Mates in collaboration with NCF, Zoo Outreach Organization, the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group and the Hornbill Specialist Group organised a three-day workshop in Siliguri to chalk out the action plan to survey hornbill populations, protect and restore key forest habitats, nest and food trees, and work with other NGOs and local communities to generate awareness.The event was attended by forest department officials led by state assistant principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Ujjal Ghosh, besides 38 representatives from Sikkim, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Bhutan.
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