By: Amrita Singh
Picture Credit: Aditya Yadav
EACH AND EVERY CREATURE ON EARTH HAS AS MUCH RIGHT TO BE HERE AS YOU AND ME .”
Images of forest owlet (Athene blewitti), an endangered species have been captured at Rosa, Shahjahanpur.
The Forest Owlet is endemic to India, that is, it is not found anywhere outside India. This small sized owlet has been placed among the top seventeen birds in the world that are in the endangered category.
The species belongs to the typical owls family, Strigidae. First described in 1873, it was not seen after 1884 and considered extinct until it was rediscovered 113 years later in 1997.
The total known population of the species remains very small and fragmented and is inferred to be declining as a result of the loss and degradation of its deciduous forest habitat.
To protect any endangered species, the research plan and conservation strategy should be shared at a policy level, a local level and with a wider audience.
While the Forest Department can help with field level implantation, citizens play a very important role in generating overall awareness of owl conservation. Harmful superstitions and irrational beliefs about owls should be eradicated from society by encouraging youth and children to learn about owls in their vicinity and appreciate the uniqueness of the species. Once you begin to admire something, you will protect it from being harmed.
We all have a responsibility to protect endangered species, both for their sake and for the sake of our own future generations.
