Millennia into human existence, there's still so much we don't notice or understand about the natural world, though it's certainly not for lack of trying. Sometimes, stunning discoveries are simply hiding in plain sight, just waiting for the right watchful eye to notice them.
This was recently the case in Kerala, a tropical Indian state, which recently recorded the first-ever coastal sighting of the great hornbill, the state's official bird, but one that is almost always found in hilly areas inland. According to The New Indian Express, the find was confirmed by two researchers, Amitha Bachan K.H. and Aswin Krishna, who subsequently took pictures of the bird feeding on a tree near the beach.
"This is the first time a sighting is recorded from Kerala where the location is at sea level," stated Dr. Amitha, a member of the IUCN Hornbill Specialist Group and founder of the Hornbill Foundation. "The larger hornbill species sometimes travel more than 100-200 kilometers (62-124 miles). The nearest great hornbill populations here are at Vazhachal, Vellikulangara-Anapantham, Peechi, and Nelliyampathi, which are about 35-50 kilometers (22-31 miles) away from the spotted location."
Such a highly unusual sighting is worthy of attention for several reasons. First and foremost, it highlights the importance of trail cameras, which can be powerful tools to help experts gauge the health of endangered species populations and are useful in documenting evidence of rehabilitation efforts.
They have been known to capture footage of elusive and rare species, which can provide scientists with invaluable data about their evolving regional ecosystems and help them advise local governments and wildlife organizations about how to monitor their environments and the creatures in them. If done smartly, such institutional oversight can help ensure more animal species survive, which can greatly impact humans through our food supply.
In this instance, researchers have already made numerous potential hypotheses from the great hornbill sighting, ranging from an uptick in the species' movements during the non-nesting season to changes in animal-bird behavior to a correlation with climate change. But it's still too early to draw conclusions. What's most important is that the scientific community is now aware of this new data and can spend the proper time analyzing it to its fullest extent.
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"All these factors need further, in-depth study," Dr. Amitha added.
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