6 months ago
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Wildlife enthusiasts person confirmed the beingness of an Eastern Imperial Eagle visiting the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) during the wintertime migratory season.
A brace of the uncommon Eastern Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca), was spotted by Murali Moorthy. One peculiar representation captures 1 of the raptors with different uncommon vertebrate – an endangered Egyptian vulture.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Murali said that the vertebrate breeds chiefly passim Western and Central Asia, portion they besides migrate during wintertime to parts of Africa, the Middle East arsenic good arsenic South and East Asia.
Arockianathan Samson, from the Bombay Natural History Society, who was portion of a squad of researchers who documented 58 taxon of raptors successful MTR betwixt 2011 and 2022, said that the tiger reserve provided an perfect habitat, nutrient availability and a conducive clime for raptors to flourish.
“Most raptors besides similar areas with small anthropogenic pressures and bully nutrient availability,” said Mr. Samson.
During the breeding season, the Imperial Eagle prefers unfastened landscapes with scattered forests, commonly known arsenic forest-steppe habitats. These areas supply gangly trees for nesting and unfastened grounds for hunting. The breeding scope stretches crossed a immense region—from Western Europe done Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and further into Siberia and northwestern China.
As a apical predator, the Imperial Eagle plays a captious relation successful maintaining ecological equilibrium by controlling populations of rodents and different tiny animals. Its beingness is often a motion of a steadfast ecosystem.
However, situation loss, disturbance, and reduced nutrient availability endanger this magnificent vertebrate crossed its range. Protecting some its breeding grounds and wintering areas is indispensable for ensuring its survival, added Mr. Samson.
This twelvemonth has witnessed a ample influx of wintertime migrants, particularly birds of prey, added Murali Moorthy, who said that portion Greater spotted eagles - different wintertime migratory species, were besides recorded successful 2024, that the numbers this twelvemonth were acold higher.
Despite the encouraging sightings, conservationists person besides appealed to the Forest Department and the Nilgiris territory medication to see imposing limitations to the fig of visitors allowed into the tiger reserve, particularly during the highest tourer play months successful the summertime and winter.
“As the tiger reserve is simply a biodiversity hotspot, it is present besides taxable to pressures from tourism, with it astir apt being the astir heavy visited portion of the Nilgiris lone isolated from Ooty town. In the coming years, these pressures volition lone increase, truthful the authorities indispensable statesman considering a tourism argumentation that tin beryllium implemented to trim specified pressures. This volition support not conscionable autochthonal wildlife, but besides wintertime migrants from crossed the satellite which sojourn MTR each year,” said a conservationist from The Nilgiris.
“Continuous sightings of the Imperial Eagle person been documented done the planetary bird-watching level eBird from 2020 to 2025, confirming that the Imperial Eagle regularly visits Mudumalai, highlighting the value of the landscape,” said Mr. Samson, who had besides recorded the taxon successful 2017.
“Most of these records were made betwixt November and February, which coincides with the species’ wintertime migration period. These repeated observations powerfully suggest that Mudumalai Tiger Reserve serves arsenic an important wintering situation for the Imperial Eagle. The beingness of unfastened grasslands, wood edges, and abundant prey successful the reserve apt supports the taxon during its agelong enactment distant from its breeding grounds successful Europe and Central Asia. Such records underline the planetary conservation worth of Indian protected areas and the request to safeguard wintering habitats for migratory birds that question thousands of kilometres crossed continents,” helium added.
