(IN): Century-old banyan tree collapses, 800 storks crushed

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Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080917/jsp/guwahati/story_9845101.jsp

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**Century-old banyan tree collapses, 800 storks crushed*

PULLOCK DUTTA

 

*Guwahati, Sept. 16:* Over 800 endangered Asian openbill storks were killed

and several hundred injured when a century-old banyan tree on which they

were nesting collapsed last night.

 

" We have counted 800 dead birds and the number is rising, " wildlife warden

Arup Ballab Goswami told *The Telegraph* from Banglung Shyam village in

Karbi Anglong district.

 

A rescue team from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation

(CWRC) near Kaziranga is treating the injured birds, most of which have

broken wings or legs and are critical.

 

The casualties were so heavy because the birds were " drowsy " at night and

also because they have relatively slow reflexes, said Kula Jyoti Lahkar, an

ornithologist with the Bombay Natural History Society.

 

" They were crushed under the branches, " he said from Mumbai.

 

Prashanta Boro, a CWRC veterinarian, said most of the injured birds could

not be rescued since the area is marshy and surrounded by thick jungles. " We

have rescued about 70, " he said.

 

Dibyadhar Shyam, a forest official from the village, said the birds had been

nesting in that tree for over 50 years and their number was growing each

year because the villagers, who are Buddhists, never harmed them.

 

" These birds flew away during January-March every year but returned again to

nest, " he said.

 

Warden Goswami said the tree was over 100 years old. " There are three banyan

trees clustered near a Buddhist temple. One got uprooted last night since

its roots had grown weak. One portion of the tree fell into a pond, another

in a villager's backyard. "

 

Shyam said the tree probably collapsed under the birds' weight. " We heard

the sound of branches snapping around 9pm and then a big thud. "

 

The villagers informed the CWRC officials at Kaziranga and they arrived this

morning.

 

Shyam said most of the nests had chicks since this was the breeding season.

" Almost all the chicks died, " Goswami said.

 

The Asian openbill stork, *Anastomus Oscitans*, is found mainly in India,

Sri Lanka and some South East Asian countries. It breeds near wetlands,

builds its nests on big trees, and feeds on snails, frogs and large insects.

 

The Banglung Shyam village had one of the largest colonies of openbill

storks in eastern Assam after the river island of Majuli and Kaziranga

National Park.

 

Forest officials said no survey on the stork population had been carried out

in Assam in recent times. " The population of this species is decreasing

every year, " an official said.

 

Yesterday, about 20 storks were rescued from Disangmukh on the Brahmaputra's

banks in Sivasagar district by a CWCR team. The birds were marooned after

the tree they were nesting on was uprooted by a storm on Sunday night.

 

 

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