Guwahati: An endangered Greater Adjutant Stork, locally referred to as Hargila, was rescued by a team from biodiversity organisation Aaranyak in November last year and after seven months released into the wilderness on May 14.
As per reports, Tiku, the rescued Hargila was only ten-days-old when she and her sibling fell from her nest atop a 70-feet tall tree on November 18, 2022, in Dadara village of Kamrup district, Assam.
A local resident, Kandarpa Medhi, spotted the two birds and contacted the Greater Adjutant Conservation Programme (GACP) team of Aaranyak. The GACP team is headed by well-known conservationist Dr Purnima Devi Barman. Manab Das and Dipankar Das aided Dr Barman in the rescue operation. “The chicks looked weak, dehydrated and were injured,” said Dr Barman.
The rescued chicks were then handed over to Dr Rathin Barman, Joint Director of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), WTI and transported to the CWRC for rehabilitation.
CWRC is a rescue and rehabilitation center run by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with Assam Forest Department. Despite best efforts of CWRC veterinarian, Dr Samshul Ali, one of the two rescued birds died after a few days while the other, Tiku, survived and responded to treatment.
On May 14 when Tiku was released near Deepor beel, the event was graced by Partha Sarathi Mahanta, DIG (Admin) and Indrani Baruah, DIG (CID) of Assam Police. Pramod Kalita, a well-known conservationist was also present at the event. The released Hargila was named after the nickname of Kalita’s three-year-old daughter who is a bird enthusiast.
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Dr Purnima Devi Barman said that the release of the endangered bird on Mother’s Day was “serves as a symbol of hope and resilience for all those who have lost their mothers, and a reminder that love and compassion can come from unexpected sources.”
It was found that more than 400 such birds were rescued and rehabilitated by Dr Barman and her team in the past 15 years. With from local residents, all the rescued birds were raised at the Assam State Zoo, Assam Forest Department facilities, CWRC, as well as in the villages of Dadara, Pachariya, and Singimari in Kamrup District.
Also Read | From bad omen to treasured friends: how Hargila found home in Assam