While a critically endangered steppe eagle was found dead in the western part of Chitwan, a rare gharial crocodile was found entangled in a fishing net in the eastern part. These creatures, which swim in the water and eat in the sky, have been affected by human activities and development infrastructure.
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The Gomayu Mahachil, or 'Steppe Eagle', is not only large in size, but it also travels a long way to reach Nepal. The national bird of Egypt, the 'Steppe Eagle', is depicted on its flag. It is also depicted on the national flag of Kazakhstan.
This eagle crosses the mountains and comes to Nepal from Mongolia after winter sets in. But such a bird was found dead in Chitwan on Thursday.
While an important bird was found dead in the western region of Chitwan, a rare gharial crocodile was found wrapped in a fishing net in the eastern region. These creatures that swim in the water and eat kava in the sky have been affected by human activities and development infrastructure. Apil Ghimire of Pahitani, known as Rapti Kaka, found the ‘step eagle’ dead around 9:30 am on Thursday.
He said that the ‘step eagle’ died after getting electrocuted by an electric wire near the Brahmapuri inner road of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-13. ‘The bird was hanging on the wire.’ The dead eagle was found under it. Its legs are badly burned, so it is clear that it has also been electrocuted,' said Ghimire. Hathan Chaudhary, president of the Nepal Birdwatchers' Association, said that this bird is on the sensitive list as it is in decline.
According to Hathan, the 'steppe eagle' comes to Nepal from Mongolia. 'It starts coming to Nepal from October when winter begins. It stays here until April and then returns,' he said. He said that it descends to the lower part of Nepal through the Kaligandaki Valley. 'Bare power lines are very dangerous for birds. The steppe eagle was not known to have fallen on the wires like this before. But vultures have fallen a lot,' said Hathan.
That is why he says that he has repeatedly urged power projects to take this into account. 'We have asked to include this matter in the IEEE EIA.' We have asked to avoid bare wires as much as possible, and to put clear signs so that birds can recognize them if they have to be installed. Electric wires have caused a lot of trouble to birds,' said Hathan. He said that this bird has been found in Nepal up to an altitude of seven thousand meters. Hathan said that the Goyayu Mahachil is a bird that was recognized by the world from Nepal. Another ornithologist, Krishna Prasad Bhusal, has mentioned in his article that British naturalist Brian Hudson identified a new species of bird, the 'steppe eagle', from Nepal in 1833. Its scientific name is 'Aquila nipalensis'. Conservationist Apil Ghimire said that it is sad that such a bird died due to electrocution. Bikash Puri of the University of Agriculture and Forestry has taken over the study of the dead Goyayu Mahachil.
On Thursday, a team from Chitwan National Park rescued a gharial crocodile wrapped in a net from the Budhi Rapti River near Chitrasari Bridge in Ratnanagar Municipality-8. Although fishing with nets is prohibited, the use of such nets continues and is causing problems for rare animals like gharials, said Conservation Officer Avinash Thapa Magar, Information Officer of Chitwan National Park.
The gharial crocodile is an animal that eats only fish in clean flowing water. It is very rare and in a critical condition. In a survey conducted in Chitwan last year, a total of 352 gharial crocodiles were found, including 206 in the Rapti and its tributaries Budhi Rapti and Dhungre rivers and 146 in the Narayani river area. This year too, gharial monitoring has begun.
