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Jerdon’s Courser saved from being homeless
The only known habitat of one of the world’s most rare birds has been saved from destruction. Thanks to the compromise done between the state government, environmentalists and the villagers of a state called Andhra pradesh in India, which was soon to have the 400km Telegu-Ganga canal. The canal will now be diverted to a different route so as to save the only remaining habitat of the Jerdon’s courser a striking nocturnal bird, the size of a lap wig and found only in one region of the state.
Scientists believe that there may be just 50 of these birds left and fear that the original route of the canal would have destroyed the bird’s habitat and thereby the bird itself.
The decision to reroute the canal comes after 3 long years of legal battle between the environmentalist and the government. This compromise and the promise to add 3000 acres of adjoining land to the courser’s sanctuary are what the government has had to give to the agitators.
British surgeon, T. C. Jerdon, was the first to see the Jerdon’s courser in 1848. The bird was thought extinct in 1900 until its rediscovery in Andhra pradesh 22 years ago. The Indian Postal service had even celebrated this occasion with a postage stamp bearing the bird’s image.
Postage stamp in honor of the bird
Categorized as critically endangered in the IUCN list it has only been sighted ten times since its rediscovery. This is mostly due to its single, small, declining population, which is threatened by exploitation of scrub-forest, livestock grazing, disturbance and quarrying.
The good news is, at least now the bird gets a chance to spread its wings and maybe even spread the number of its family members around its habitat.
