The mystery had long been solved. But now it’s official.

There is nothing supernatural about thousands of birds flying to Jatinga from all over the world around November and then “committing suicide” from a 700-metre ridge.

The clueless creatures simply get distracted by the bonfires lit by tribal villagers and fall into their ingenious trap.

After years of tireless campaigning by forest staff, the district council, NGOs, local clubs and the Church to raise awareness among villagers about the need to protect these seasonal visitors, the number of avian casualties has finally gone down.

From about 4,000 birds being killed on a single evening in 1997, only a few have been killed each night in recent times, said M. Zaman, the district forest officer (DFO) in North Cachar Hills district.

The campaign succeeded, Zaman feels, because the campaigners decided to wean the tribal population away slowly and steadily in a phased manner rather than declare drastic punitive measures against them.

The churches, in fact, were the first to realise that putting an abrupt stop to bird-hunting would not help. After all, the birds made for a very good feast and the impoverished tribal population would not be ready to give it up that easily.

So the Church insisted that bird-trapping be allowed very weekend at first and then gradually persuade the villagers to abstain from bird-hunting all together.

The campaign, however, came with a catch.

Jatinga had long been marketed as this awe-inspiring must-visit for tourists to North Cachar Hills — with a bird-twist to the Bermuda Triangle story. And the villagers did all they could to accentuate this “mystery”.

They insisted that this “phenomenon” occurred only on dark moonless nights when the winds blew in southwesterly direction and was followed by either dense fog or a drizzle.

Now, shorn of the aura of supernaturalism, Jatinga, it is being feared, will lose its charm for visitors.

Probably fearing a dip in tourist-flow, the local administration has begun promoting Jatinga as a paradise for ornithologists and bird watchers. Two bird-watching towers have been set up at Jatinga, which is only 9km from the picturesque district headquarters town of Haflong.

Whatever effect of this “mystery-solving” has on tourists, Zaman is happy to have discovered the truth. “One thing is clear. There is nothing strange about this phenomenon,” he smiled.

Manas cycle squads to counter poachers

Taking a cue from the army’s extensive use of bicycles in counter-insurgency operations, Manas National Park has decided to deploy “bicycle squads” in its anti-poaching drive inside the sanctuary and its fringe areas.

The squad will be formally launched on November 25. The park authorities have purchased 40 bicycles and intend to buy 40 more.

“We got the idea from the army which uses bicycle squads in its counter-insurgency operations in remote areas which are not accessible by vehicles. Why not try it to protect wildlife?” the field officer of the national park, A. Sargayari, said.

He said several squads of forest guards would be formed to patrol the park and its surrounding areas on bicycles. “These guards, like the soldiers, will be armed with sophisticated weapons.”

The sight of army personnel, their SLRs and AK-series rifles slung across their body, patrolling remote villages on bicycles is a common sight.

The army introduced the bicycles after it discovered that in the interior areas where there are no roads, the simple machine yielded more horsepower than the big and often cumbersome military trucks and jeeps.

Apart from bicycles, the park authorities have also purchased four motorcycles so that the guards can give poachers a good chase if and when the need arises.

The 500 square km national park currently employs 164 forest guards. Manas was declared a sanctuary in 1928.

Though Manas had a sizeable rhino population, it was wiped out during the peak of Bodo insurgency. Manas now has only three rhinos which were released in the park after being rescued from floods in Kaziranga.

More rhinos will be shifted to the park in December-January as part of Rhino Vision 2020, planned to increase the rhino population in the state.

“This time we do not want to take any chances. We are taking every possible step to protect the animals, particularly the rhinos,” Sargayari said.

|  Headlines  |  Editorial   | Coverstory  |
|  Travel Column   |   News Briefs  |
| OT Main Page | Nena  Home Page  |