ZIRO, 22 Oct: The Pamu Yalang Welfare Society (PYWS), in collaboration with the Lower Subansiri district administration, NGO Ngunu Ziro, and the Arunachal Pradesh Birding Club (APBC), organised a ‘bird and butterfly walk’ on Saturday.
“The purpose of the event was to explore the potential of the area as a short trekking route, and to assess the floral and faunal diversity here,” according to a release from Ngunu Ziro.
DC Bamin Nime commended the PYWS for organising the event, taking up various steps for the welfare of the village, and adopting the legendary Pamu Yalang, a sacred site of the Apatanis. He assured to “take up the construction of a museum at the historically important Pwchan Putu, where clay pottery was practiced,” and sought “voluntary contributions from the people of the area for this cause.”
Twenty-four species of butterflies and 19 species of birds were documented during the three-hour trek. The brown gorgon and the water snow flat were significant butterflies photographed, and a crested serpent eagle and a Himalayan buzzard were the important birds sighted.
Ngunu Ziro member Dr Tage Kanno said that “the documentation of the brown gorgon is especially important because it is photographed for the first time in this area and is one of the flagship species in Ziro, along with the Bhutan glory and the Kaiser-i-Hind.”
Koj Mama and Millo Tako of the APBC participated as resource persons. Others who participated included Pura Tama of Ngunu Ziro and Michi Omo of the Bamin Michi Welfare Committee.
It was later decided that a proposal for a water conservation project at the top of the Dolo Mando hills would be “earnestly pursued,” and that the trekking route would be maintained, so that tourists and other visitors can enjoy the fascinating views of the Ziro valley.
Dolo and Mando hills are considered as the protective deities of Bamin-Michi village. Pamu Yalang, a group of rocks perched on the Mando hills, overlooking the village, is already a popular tourist site. “The Mando viewpoint, from where one can enjoy the sunrise over the eastern horizon and view the valley in the morning, is one of the most frequented sites in Ziro,” the NGO said.
