E-Paper
22 migratory birds found dead in HP’s Pong wetland, triggering bird flu fears
State forest minister says samples have been sent for testing after the migratory birds died an unnatural death over past two days
At least 22 migratory birds have been found dead in the Pong Dam wetland over the past two days, triggering avian flu fears barely three months after an outbreak in the region that left more than 5,000 such birds dead.
The wildlife wing of the Himachal Pradesh forest department has put its teams on alert. “Twenty-two birds were found dead, and their samples have been sent for testing,” state forest minister Rakesh Pathania said on Saturday. Fourteen birds were found dead at Ransar Garhi and eight carcasses were spotted by villagers in the Nagrota Surian forest area.
“The migratory birds have died an unnatural death over the past two days. We conducted an on-the-spot inspection and collected their blood, stool, tracheal and cloacal samples,” said Rahul Rohne, the divisional forest officer, wildlife, Pong Dam. The samples have been sent to the Northern Region Diagnostic Laboratory in Jalandhar.
Mortality mostly in bar-headed geese
The mortality has been found mostly in bar-headed geese that migrate from Mongolia to Pong Dam in winter. This season, a total of 40,570 bar-headed geese were spotted at the lake. This is the highest number among bird species at the lake.
Areas within a 3km radius of the spots where the carcasses were found dead have been put under surveillance and the forest department has constituted 10 teams to keep track of the situation. The forest staff with the help of the local panchayat representatives, mahila mandals and yuvak mandals are spreading awareness in villages surrounding the water body that is spread 240 sq km.
Largest manmade wetland of North India
The Pong Dam wetland in Kangra district is one of the largest manmade wetlands of North India, formed by the construction of the dam on the Beas river, in 1974. This is the first major wetland that offers a transitory resting reserve for migratory birds coming from the trans-Himalayan zone in winter when the wetlands in Europe and North and Central Asia freeze.
Flocks of waterfowls that breed in these areas in summer undertake migration to Pong wetlands to spend winter in congenial climatic conditions from October to March every year.
Wetland supports 415 bird species
Pong wetland supports 415 bird species belonging to more than 60 families. The wetland has an untapped potential for bird watching, camping, water sports, nature/heritage tourism and other recreational activities. Rare species of vultures, falcons, Indian skimmer, red-necked grebes, white-fronted geese and waders have been sighted in the wetland.
Bar-headed geese, which visit Pong in large numbers, constitute more than 40% of the world’s population of the species. This makes the wetland the largest single congregation destination for bar-headed geese not only in India but also in the world.
More than 1.08 lakh birds belonging to 96 species were sighted at the lake this year. Of these, 1.01 lakh birds are of 51 migratory species besides 6,433 resident birds of 29 species and 714 birds of 16 other species.
Fewer winged visitors this winter
Year Number of birds sighted Number of species
2019 1.15 lakh 103
2020 1.15 lakh 114
2021 1.08 lakh 96
