As the chicks raised by storks prepare for their first flight in a week or 10 days, a 'GPS tag' has been installed for the first time in Nepal to study storks.
What you should know
The adorable chicks, who have finally learned to spread their wings, are following their mother and learning to pick up food. The chicks of the world's rarest bird, the stork, have grown up and are now able to fly.
The chicks raised by storks with hard work and struggle are now preparing for their first flight in a week/10 days. For the first time in Nepal, a 'GPS tag' has been installed to study storks. Three storks in Rupandehi and three in Kapilvastu, which are about 100 days old, have been fitted with 'GPS tags' and 'collar rings'.
With the technical assistance of Beijing Forest University in China, zoologist Dikpal Krishna Karmacharya of Bhaktapur Multiple Campus and president of Green Youth Lumbini and stork conservationist Arjun Kurmi attached the tags.
Karmacharya, who is also an executive member of the Bird Conservation Society (BCN), said that the satellite-based 'GPS tag' was installed to study the stork's behavior, migratory routes, migration and reproduction. He said that this will also provide new information on the stork's flight routes, resting places and seasonal migration. 'This latest information cannot come out through other means.' That is why the GPS tag was installed. The results from this will help in planning which areas of stork conservation are being planned,' he said.
The stork's name comes to the forefront among tall birds that can fly. Since it is difficult to catch and tag adults, the GPS was installed on the semi-adult stork, said Arjun Kurmi, a stork conservationist. It is not easy to catch the chicks of this bird, which hide in the rice fields. 'It is not easy to catch them because the color of the rice and stork chicks is the same. We caught them for two hours and tagged them when we finally found them,' Kurmi said. 'The chicks were tagged because they are easy to catch, from the adult stage to the breeding stage.'
The chick has a GPS tag on its right leg and a color ring on its left leg. If the GPS tag gives information, the color ring is used for numbering to make it easy to identify. ‘It took 4 to 6 minutes to safely control the crane, tie it with a cloth to prevent it from moving its body and wings, and attach the tag and ring. Then, it was weighed and released safely,’ said Kurmi. The tagged cranes weighed 7 to 8 kg.
Zoologist Karmacharya said that a GPS tag cost three and a half lakh rupees. The tag attached to the crane will be monitored regularly for 3 to 5 years. There is a provision that the tag should weigh less than 3 percent of the bird’s weight while attaching the tag. Zoologist Karmacharya said that the tag does not weigh even 1 percent of the weight of the cranes attached here. He informed that Nepal is the fourth country to attach GPS tags to cranes. He said that from 1998 to 2002, 7 in Cambodia and Vietnam, 10 from 2015 to 2017, 17, and one adult stork in India in 2024 were studied by attaching satellite tags.
The data can be obtained from the satellite connection at home. The tagged storks were safely released in the presence of officers from the Division Forest Office. The tagged storks are monitored to ensure that they are safely reunited with their families. ‘We are checking the tagged place and whether they are with their families or not. We are checking their physical condition. This process will continue for two weeks,’ said the worker, ‘How are they living in which place? How many kilometers per hour are they flying? It also provides information. The battery in the satellite tag also informs whether it is working or not and whether it is charging.' Zoologist Karmacharya said that the satellite tag's battery charges itself from the sun and the information can be received on the computer, so he keeps it updated by regularly monitoring it.
While studies have been carried out on tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, snow leopards, black rhinos and vultures in Nepal, this is the first time that it has been used on storks. With permission from the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, the tag was inserted to find out how far the storks travel for food? What kind of places do they breed? What is the nature of their migration? Ishwori Prasad Poudel, Senior Forest Officer of the Division Forest Office, said that the tag was inserted to find out. 'The satellite tag was also inserted to find out what kind of places they reach and what challenges they face,' he added.
Storks, which feed on insects such as snails and slugs that damage crops, are also called farmers' friends. Since storks feed on snakes, they are not afraid of snakes around their habitat. Storks hatch their young after 31 to 34 days of nesting. They weigh 10 to 12 kilograms and are about 5.5 to 6 feet tall. They fly up to a height of 40/50 feet. This bird also has cultural and religious importance. Storks are considered a symbol of faith by Buddhists. Similarly, the beginning of the Hindu religious text Ramayana also begins with the description of a courting stork pair.
Both the male and female of this bird take turns taking care of the eggs and looking for food. When something is wrong, they scream. They give information by shouting when animals such as leopards, tigers and bears are approaching. Lumbini Cultural Municipality of Kapilvastu has also made the stork its city bird. Uttar Pradesh, India has also declared the stork its state bird.
A study conducted in 2080 BS shows that there are 690 storks in Nepal. Of these, 80 percent are found in Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and West Nawalparasi. Out of the 15 species found in the world, four species of storks are found in Nepal. These include the stork, the Karyangkurung stork, the Laxman stork and the Kalikantha stork. The Karyangkurung, Laxman and Kalikantha storks are winter visitors.
Storks migrate from the North Pole in winter and travel south through Nepal, while some are found to stay here. ‘Stork pairs stay together for their entire lives.’ They do not make another one their spouse. Since they do not fight with other couples, the stork is considered a symbol of peace and love,' said Kurmi. The stork is one of the nine bird species protected by the Wildlife Conservation Act 029 because it is a rare bird. After the stork began to be seen less, it was listed as a rare bird in the world in 2000.
