Since the launch of the Hornbill trail by the Tourism department three years ago, the wood depot located in Dandeli midtown attracts hundreds of tourists every day. This will now be a part of the conservation reserve to protect the rare birds characterized by their long, down-curved bill.
“We can sight these birds all along this stretch. They are the residents here and over a hundred roosts (a branch of a tree, where birds rest or sleep) have been recorded here,” says Manoj Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Mysore, who began the process to declare it a conservation reserve during his posting at Dandeli.
The reserve is aimed at protection, propagation and development of flora for the breeding and survival of these birds. According to the Forest department, the hornbill reserve will be the first of its kind in the country.
Four species of horn bills — Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris), Malabar Grey Hornbill (Tockus griseus), Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracocereros coronatus) and Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) — are sighted in Dandeli. Among the four species in the State, the Great Pied Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill are protected under the Wildlife Act (Schedule One). The Malabar Pied, endemic to the Western Ghats, has also been declared near-threatened by the Bird-life International — a body that lists the endangered and red-listed birds across the world. Declared as a reserve on May 31 this year under Section 36(A) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, the boundary of the reserve spreads across the two taluks of Joida and Haliyal of the district.
The L-shaped reserve starts from the Supa dam and extends to Kali near Mavaling village and again extends up to Kali river, Dandeli town, Dandeli timber depot and Dandakaranya. Along the eastern boundaries, it starts from Dandeli-Kulgi Road, reaches Kulgi Circle and touches Dandeli- Anshi tiger reserve until Phansoli and the Supa dam.
The region, according to Manoj Kumar, is full of fruit-bearing trees and suitable for roosting and survival of the birds. This is the second conservation reserve in the State after the Bankapur Peacock Sanctuary.
Apart from the four sighted in the State, nine species of hornbills are found in India.
The White Throated Brown Hornbill, the Rufous Necked Hornbill, the Wreathed Hornbill and the Indian Pied Hornbills are found only in Northeast India and the Gangetic Plains.
An edited version of this article was published in Deccan Herald and can be read at,
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