About 10,000 heron nests washed away by floods

By Baburam Karki 

Barahakshetra, Oct. 30: A huge flood in the Saptakoshi River in the last week of September washed away the forest area of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. 

According to the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve Office, the habitat of wildlife and birds has been washed away.  

A preliminary study of the Reserve shows that about 10,000 heron nests in the western section of the reserve have been washed away.  

Ram Dev Chaudhary, Senior Conservation Officer at the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve Office, said that the flood caused the biggest damage to the reserve after 2008.

According to him, four wild water buffaloes (Bubalus arnee) have been washed away by the flood and two of them have returned from the Indian territory. 

Similarly, seven Asiatic deer have been washed away by floods. He said that more animals may have been washed away, he said. 

The wild animals were affected due to the submergence of the reserve's forest area. 

However, the reserve office does not have data on how many small animals in the reserve area died, and how many were injured due to the flood. According to Conservation Officer Chaudhary, the reserve office only has the data on large animals that were affected.

There are 500 wild water buffaloes, 553 birds, 12 wild elephants and 5,000 flowering and non-flowering plants in Koshi Tappu. 

According to the Reserve Office, 127 species of fish are found in the Saptakoshi River. Data on small animals has not been kept, he said. 

The Koshi River witnessed the highest water flow in five decades. The flow has washed away the habitat of wild animals including Nilgai, deer, rabbits and other wildlife dependent on the forest area.