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BHUBANESWAR: Even as the dreaded Avian Influenza (H5N1 strain) has come back to haunt India, particularly through the recent outbreak in Assam, the Chilika lagoon has been included in a multi-centre study aiming to identify sources of the killer virus . The first of its kind initiative carried forward through an international cooperative project seeks to improve knowledge on the international habits of waterbirds, interactions between wild and domestic birds and most importantly, movement of avian influenza virus in the Central Asian Flyway.
The study jointly undertaken by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Agriculture with technical inputs from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wetlands International and the United States Geological Survey also includes Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
The State Wildlife Wing, Chilika Development Authority and the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services are involved in the programme in Orissa, which got underway on Monday.
Samples have begun to be collected from the birds to test for avian influenza and other diseases. The disease surveillance work will be carried out at Chilika for one week.
Till date, all samples collected from wild birds in Chilika and other parts of India have been negative for the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 but more extensive studies on a broader sphere are required to assess the situation more effectively, CEO of Chilika Development Authority Dr Sudarshan Panda said.
Chilika Lagoon, harbouring one of the largest waterbird congregation sites in the Indian subcontinent, has been considered a major site for the study. At least 226 species of birds of over 890,000 migratory and resident waterbirds have been recorded at Chilika.
The project also involves tracking the movements of the birds through satellite telemetry. Birds like the Common Teal (Anas crecca) and Garganey Teal (Anas querquedula) have also been marked with specially designed satellite transmitters.
The Common Teal is one of the smallest migratory ducks in the world to be studied by this advanced technique. The movement of the birds will be studied over the next few years.
A Barheaded Goose (Anser indicus), which had been recently fitted with a red and white neck colour band in Central Mongolia was observed in a flock of over 200 geese in Chilika on Tuesday. This is the first confirmation of a Mongolian marked goose in Chilika Lake and highlights the importance of this migration study.
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/s...FeEOBkuKw=&SEO=
The study jointly undertaken by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Agriculture with technical inputs from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Wetlands International and the United States Geological Survey also includes Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
The State Wildlife Wing, Chilika Development Authority and the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services are involved in the programme in Orissa, which got underway on Monday.
Samples have begun to be collected from the birds to test for avian influenza and other diseases. The disease surveillance work will be carried out at Chilika for one week.
Till date, all samples collected from wild birds in Chilika and other parts of India have been negative for the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 but more extensive studies on a broader sphere are required to assess the situation more effectively, CEO of Chilika Development Authority Dr Sudarshan Panda said.
Chilika Lagoon, harbouring one of the largest waterbird congregation sites in the Indian subcontinent, has been considered a major site for the study. At least 226 species of birds of over 890,000 migratory and resident waterbirds have been recorded at Chilika.
The project also involves tracking the movements of the birds through satellite telemetry. Birds like the Common Teal (Anas crecca) and Garganey Teal (Anas querquedula) have also been marked with specially designed satellite transmitters.
The Common Teal is one of the smallest migratory ducks in the world to be studied by this advanced technique. The movement of the birds will be studied over the next few years.
A Barheaded Goose (Anser indicus), which had been recently fitted with a red and white neck colour band in Central Mongolia was observed in a flock of over 200 geese in Chilika on Tuesday. This is the first confirmation of a Mongolian marked goose in Chilika Lake and highlights the importance of this migration study.
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/s...FeEOBkuKw=&SEO=