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Now how many of you know about this? That there is a rare species that you can sight only in Nilgiris !
There are lots of species which are rare that can be sighted in Nilgiris upon rarity there is a Unique place for The Nilgiri Laughing Thrush (NLT) which can Only be sighted in Nilgiris and nowhere else Yes you read it right.
The Nilgiri Laughing Thrush (NLT) is a insectivorous bird larger then a house Sparrow and smaller then a common Crow splurging on insects and berries found in the Shola thickets, the call of NLT is very unique a resounding call more like mimicking laughter. NLT is the only truly endemic species of Nilgiris in the Avian Fauna part now. Thou there are lotta species that have the prefix of “Nilgiri” attached to it like the famed Nilgiri Thar then the Nilgiri Wood Pigion, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Pipet and so on but these species are found even outside the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR). The Nilgiri Thar is found all the way down in Munnar and Valpari. Even more astounding is the fact that NLT is enlisted as an Endangered (EN) species in the IUCN Red list, a rung below the lists priority - Critically Endangered (CR), with the highly fragmented geographical distribution NLT can be found in small numbers around Nilgiris, there have been a sighting of NLTs in the Pala Mala Kerala ( these sighting are yet to be authenticated, inputs are needed) the population of NLT is estimated to be any thing between 2500 to 9000 individuals according to BIRDLIFE International as it is really difficult to peg the exact numbers and its anybody guess now, it might even have decreased in numbers given the state of disturbance to its habitat – which is predominantly Sholas, thickets and scrubby undergrowths in the elevation above 3000 ft.
On the conservation front what are the efforts taken to protect this unique bird, to my knowledge it is near non existent. The officials sitting in the concerned department are not aware of the importance of such a bird, even if they do they cannot gauge the critically importance attached to it. And above all it is not highlighted or media represented, like the importance given to the Nilgiri Thar. Species like NLTs are crucial denominators for the state of our environments health there are many such denominator going unnoticed around us, of all miseries people are more interested in big names of Tigers and Lion conservation – yes it holds true when the top predator is protected the ecological food chain sustains by itself, but what about the isolated small dynamic forest reserves where umpteen number of smaller species like NLTs thrive, there might even be many more species and organisms alike around the world that are in the verge of getting vanished or have seen their traces wiped off from the face of this earth due to loss of habitat – we will never come to know about it and how less important are these species in the ecological food chain? Can all this be attributed to the evolutionary process! If so can we allow the Lions the Tigers and the other exotic species to see its natural end of being wiped off from this very earth as their role in the evolutionary process has been attained?
I know no evolutionary theorem here - just a laymens heart to possess and to be possessed by nature
Is any body listenin out there ?
There are lots of species which are rare that can be sighted in Nilgiris upon rarity there is a Unique place for The Nilgiri Laughing Thrush (NLT) which can Only be sighted in Nilgiris and nowhere else Yes you read it right.
The Nilgiri Laughing Thrush (NLT) is a insectivorous bird larger then a house Sparrow and smaller then a common Crow splurging on insects and berries found in the Shola thickets, the call of NLT is very unique a resounding call more like mimicking laughter. NLT is the only truly endemic species of Nilgiris in the Avian Fauna part now. Thou there are lotta species that have the prefix of “Nilgiri” attached to it like the famed Nilgiri Thar then the Nilgiri Wood Pigion, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Pipet and so on but these species are found even outside the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR). The Nilgiri Thar is found all the way down in Munnar and Valpari. Even more astounding is the fact that NLT is enlisted as an Endangered (EN) species in the IUCN Red list, a rung below the lists priority - Critically Endangered (CR), with the highly fragmented geographical distribution NLT can be found in small numbers around Nilgiris, there have been a sighting of NLTs in the Pala Mala Kerala ( these sighting are yet to be authenticated, inputs are needed) the population of NLT is estimated to be any thing between 2500 to 9000 individuals according to BIRDLIFE International as it is really difficult to peg the exact numbers and its anybody guess now, it might even have decreased in numbers given the state of disturbance to its habitat – which is predominantly Sholas, thickets and scrubby undergrowths in the elevation above 3000 ft.
On the conservation front what are the efforts taken to protect this unique bird, to my knowledge it is near non existent. The officials sitting in the concerned department are not aware of the importance of such a bird, even if they do they cannot gauge the critically importance attached to it. And above all it is not highlighted or media represented, like the importance given to the Nilgiri Thar. Species like NLTs are crucial denominators for the state of our environments health there are many such denominator going unnoticed around us, of all miseries people are more interested in big names of Tigers and Lion conservation – yes it holds true when the top predator is protected the ecological food chain sustains by itself, but what about the isolated small dynamic forest reserves where umpteen number of smaller species like NLTs thrive, there might even be many more species and organisms alike around the world that are in the verge of getting vanished or have seen their traces wiped off from the face of this earth due to loss of habitat – we will never come to know about it and how less important are these species in the ecological food chain? Can all this be attributed to the evolutionary process! If so can we allow the Lions the Tigers and the other exotic species to see its natural end of being wiped off from this very earth as their role in the evolutionary process has been attained?
I know no evolutionary theorem here - just a laymens heart to possess and to be possessed by nature
Is any body listenin out there ?
Posts
I recall this from my childhood..... but its been a long time since I've seen one! Perhaps that it is now critically endangered explains it all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! Makes a lot of sense!
NICE SHOT..
ReplyDelete