Uttarakhand Forest Department announces Rs 1 lakh cash prize for spotting rare bird
U’khand Forest department to give camera’s and cash prize to anyone who can film a rare Himalayan bird
Uttarakhand Forest Department has decided to give cameras to residents of some villages in Munsiyari, Pangot, Mussoorie, Binayak and Chamoli to take photos of much sought after mountain quail bird. The bird had been seen visiting these villages in the last some years, Forest Department sources said.
“The mountain quail is found only in the Himalayan region. It is enlisted in the endangered category in the wildlife archives. A British Army officer had seen and killed a monal near Sher Ka Danda near Nainital, in 1876. It is a much sought after bird in the world. Famous ornithologist Dr Salim Ali of the Bombay Natural History Society also searched for it in 1936 with claims of having seen it near Nainital. Ten skins of the bird have been kept at various museums in the world,” said PM Thakate, DFO, East Terai Forest Division.
He says bird watchers from across the world have been visiting Nainital, Mussoorie and other places in search of the bird but none of them succeeded in finding it after 1885. “Besides providing cameras, we have also decided to give a cash award of Rs 1 lakh to a person who succeeds in filming the rare bird,” said the DFO.
