Fluttering wings and chirping: Tadoba tiger reserve attracts rare birds in area free of villages

Mumbai: Grassland bird species are thronging the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra's Chandrapur in the natural meadows created due to the relocation of six villages from its core area, an exercise which began 19 years ago, as per officials.

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has taken up a conservation breeding project focused on restoring some of the endangered bird species in Maharashtra, including the Lesser Florican that has been sighted in and around TATR in the last three to four years.

The Mumbai-based wildlife research organisation is currently assessing the potential of the tiger reserve, located in the Vidarbha region, for the conservation project, especially post-relocation of villages.

Talking to PTI, BNHS director Kishor Rithe described TATR as one of India's most successful and biologically rich tiger landscapes.

Spread over 1,700 square kilometres, including buffer and 625 sq km core area, the reserve is home to more than 100 individual tigers, making it one of the most important conservation landscapes in central India, he said.

The reserve is characterised by dense bamboo dominated forest, rich prey base and a network of perennial water bodies which offer ideal conditions for the survival of tigers, Rithe said.

After the relocation of half-a-dozen villages from the core zone, a process which began in 2006, an area spread across 926 hectares, which once comprised settlements and agriculture fields, has now turned into meadows, where there is no presence of human beings or domestic animals, he said.

"The village relocation was done to provide inviolate areas for tiger breeding. Tiger recovery has certainly been recorded, but we have also found the recovery of grassland bird species. Apart from Lesser Florican, there are Yellow-Wattled Lapwing and Painted Sandgrouse in the newly-developed grasslands. This is a positive sign and good indication (of birds making the area their home),'' he said.

According to Rithe, the Lesser Florican inhabits dry grasslands and scrublands. It has also adapted to some agricultural landscapes having short crops. It often lays eggs on ground and feeds on insects, seeds and berries.

Sufficient grass or crop cover is vital in its breeding season. The endangered bird, limited to pockets in a few states, is at risk due to vanishing and deteriorating grasslands, he pointed out.

After the relocation of villages from the core of TATR, plant species, palatable and non-palatable grasses have regenerated, the BNHS director said.

Leguminous plant species like Rantur, Ranmethi, Ranmoog and Ran Udid have also regenerated in the core area.

The TATR administration, under the guidance of grass expert Dr G D Muratkar, has grown grass plots in the area and propagated the same, the official informed.

India has less than 500 Lesser Floricans, but because of the relocation of villages followed by scientific meadow development works, the chances of the highly endangered bird species staying and even breeding in TATR have increased, Rithe said.

"We would work with the TATR administration to make the meadows preferable or luring to the Lesser Florican too," he said, adding the bird has been sighted in and around TATR in the past three to four years.