[ Bengia Ajum ]
SEIJOSA, 12 Nov: Ohey Tayem, a teacher who left his government job and became a conservationist working in the forest of the Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR) here in Pakke-Kessang district is the man credited for discovering Blyth’s kingfisher bird inside the PTR.
Tayem started working as a tourist guide in PTR from 2011 onwards and soon started to take a keen interest in wildlife conservation.
He diligently started working on finding Blyth’s kingfisher from 2015 onwards, and in 2018 he got success and sighted them in the PTR. Soon the word spread and bird lovers from across the world flocked to the PTR to have a sight of Blyth’s kingfisher, an endangered bird. In 2020, his achievement of sighting the rare bird was published in the India Book of Records.
Tayem is also credited for sighting the rufous-vented laughing thrush inside the PTR. For the animal lovers visiting the PTR, in particular birders, Tayem is the man in demand. His late father Taya Tayem, a former hunter-turned-conservationist, died in a road accident in 2006 after returning from a conservation activity.
“My father was a conservationist and died in an accident while performing the duty of conservation. I decided to follow my father’s footsteps and this is how my journey started,” said Tayem.
He is also a nest protector in the hornbill nest adoption programme of the PTR. On behalf of the nest protectors’team, he received the Sanctuary-Asia Award in 2014 in Mumbai. “We need to protect the habitat of endangered wildlife species. The PTR is home to many such species,and therefore there is a need to protect the forests here. This is the best place for bird-related photography and tourists come especially for it,” he added.
On the occasion of the National Press Day celebration on 16 November, the Arunachal Press Club and the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists have decided to felicitate Tayem with an ‘Achiever’s Award’ for his contribution to the field of conservation. The two media bodies searched to felicitate the unsung heroes and zeroed in upon Tayem, who has never been recognized by the government or NGOs in the state to date for his contribution to the field of wildlife conservation.
