Officials stunned by first-of-its-kind sighting of rare species: 'Never seen in such high numbers'

Migratory birds have arrived in the resource-rich Manair River near the city of Karimnagar in south-central India. 

According to a recent report by The New Indian Express, the Indian Forest Department has been asked to conserve this important habitat, which serves as a refuge for migratory birds and other wildlife. 

In this region, sightings of rare and endangered birds, including Indian Skimmers, have been reported by members of the Karimnagar Birding Community. 

Indian Skimmers are listed as endangered on the the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, with their population declining by about 41% between 2001 and 2020, largely driven by human activities including habitat destruction and land degradation. 

According to DataZone by BirdLife, there were an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 mature Indian Skimmers globally, which had fallen to an estimated 2,450 to 2,900 by 2020. 

Indian Skimmers were first reported in the Lower Manair Dam on eBird.org in January 2023, per The New Indian Express. Since then, visits by this endangered bird have increased, with a total of 150 to 200 Indian Skimmers reported passing through this habitat — a popular destination for migrating birds due to the abundant supply of small fish, aquatic plants, and insects. 

A Times of India report in early March described an extraordinary sighting of a flock of over 100 endangered Indian Skimmers in Karimnagar between the Mid Manair and Lower Manair Dams. 

The Times of India report also noted that three of the birds in the entire flock had identification tags (4T5, 4T8, and 2R0), indicating that ongoing efforts are underway to monitor and improve the conservation of this endangered bird species. 

Advanced technology, such as trail cameras, is also proving to be a valuable tool for wildlife conservation efforts. 

Trail cameras allow researchers to study and monitor the population health and behavior of wildlife species over extended periods while remaining minimally intrusive. 

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Data collected from these trail cameras helps scientists better measure the impact of their rehabilitation strategies, and allows them to fine-tune their conservation efforts, helping endangered and vulnerable species to recover to levels prior to human interference. 

A trail camera in South Africa captured the first confirmed sighting of a local leopard, which had not been seen in the area in over 170 years. 

In China, trail cameras captured footage of a North Chinese leopard, musk deer, and several other local wildlife species — all rarely encountered. 

Ongoing conservation efforts are critical to increasing the population numbers of endangered species like the Indian Skimmer. "They were spotted in Telangana here and there before as well, but were never documented and never seen in such high numbers," said Parveen Sheikh, a scientist at the Bombay Natural History Society, per The New Indian Express.

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