Amur Falcons brought international attention on Pangti village under Wokha district where the raptors roost for two months (October-November) on arrival from Russia and China enroute to South Africa. Ornithologists describe the yearly Pangti spectacle as “by far the largest and most spectacular roost of any species of Falcon ever seen anywhere in the world”. The Amur Falcon roosting at Pangti has earned Nagaland the moniker–the falcon capital of the world.
The fate of Amur Falcons in Nagaland changed from being hunted to protected largely due to efforts of conservationists, state wildlife department, NGOs and Pangti village since 2013. Pangti villagers who operated in the village area and around had done a U-turn from predators to protectors by giving time and efforts for conservation of Amur Falcons.
The golden moment arrived for Pangti village, when on November 2013, three birds, ‘Naga,’ ‘Wokha,’ and ‘Pangti’ were tagged with satellite transmissions. However, as migratory birds generally have a lifespan of two to three years, by 2015 the transmissions stopped.
Then in November 2016, five Amur Falcons were tagged in Nagaland- Hakhizhe, Intanki, Longleng, Eninum, and Phom. ‘Longleng’ was the only one that continues to transmit messages.
Longleng was reported to have been in China on May 7,2020 . Earlier the raptor had stopped sending signals. It was tagged from the Yaongyimchen Community Bio-Diversity Conservation at Longleng district. However after a chain of prayer, the bird miraculously began sending back satellite signals. It has been flying trips from China, to India to South Africa. Ornithologists believe ‘Longleng’ is on its last migratory journey this year.
What happens after ‘Longleng’ also ends its journey could well also mean the end of the chapter for Nagaland as the capital of Amur Falcons.
Manipur government has been active in satellite tagging of Amur Falcons. In 2018 in Manipur, two birds-‘Manipur’ and ‘Tamenglong’- were tagged with GPS satellite transmitters at Chiuluan village along the Barak River in Tamenglong district. However, unfortunately ‘Manipur’ was killed by unknown persons at Kebuching area bordering Tamenglong and Noney district and Tamenglong also stopped sending signals.
However, five more raptors were tagged in November 2019 in Manipur- Chiulon in October 2019 and four others in November,2019 -Puching, Phalong, Irang and Barak. Of the five, three are sending satellite signals.
What this development means, is that commitment and determination of the Manipur government to be on the international Amur Falcon map is no mean effort. This is happening as Pangti village is embroiled in a controversy of sorts with the state government and the raptor Longleng is on its last journey.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, chairman of Pangti Village Council (PVC) Chenithung, said conservation efforts began in 2013 and that by 2014 the villagers developed excellent bond with the birds and allowed them to roost without any disturbance. He said the lands belonged to clans and individuals, who gave up farming in the roosting sites without seeking any compensation.
He said though the villagers did not receive anything in return, they protected the birds 24×7 during the roosting season.
When Amur Falcons began attracting the global attention, the tourism department initiated a road connectivity project to the roosting site measuring about 2 km in length under Swadesh Darshan.
Doyang lake area as an eco-tourism spot for bird-watchers across the world. Union minister Prakash Javadekar had visited the site and assured to develop the area for tourists to have a rare sight of the raptors. However, he said the project was taken to other side of the Doyang river and that the DPR was cleverly modified to “Water Sports Zone”.
Chenithung also claimed that the North Eastern Council (NEC) had sanctioned over Rs 21 crore for a road “from Wokha to Amur Falcon- roosting sites” (as mentioned in the work order).
However in the DPR, he said the project changed to “from Wokha headquarter to Amur Falcon roosting site (N Longidang)”. Chenithung said a representation was submitted to the Wokha district administration demanding that the nomenclature “Amur falcon roosting site” should be removed, if the construction took place in other area.
Chenithung reiterated that since the bird’s roosting site was diverted to other areas under the same name, he feared that the Centre or NEC would not grant any other project for Pangti area as they would assume that projects have already been sanctioned for the area even if not a single ever reached the village.
These issues have gone unresolved with the consequence that the roosting sites for the raptors will no longer be guaranteed. He said the Pangti villagers have been compelled to resolve not to allow a single visitor to visit the roosting site since 2019 roosting season.
“It will be unfortunate if tourists are deprived from visiting the roosting site. However, the villagers are helpless. A good road will also give better impression to the visitors about the village and Nagaland,” he stressed.