Julie, the only one live Great Hornbill left in Nagaland?

Students get a taste of how the Naga are eating the revered bird into extinction

Dimapur, May 12

Be shocked: There is only one Great Hornbill known to be alive in Nagaland– Julie, and she is housed in Nagaland State Zoological Park. This startling revelation came from a group of conservation campaigners on Thursday. Official statements are yet to confirm the input but the revelation itself is not a surprise considering that warnings about bird and animal species being ‘eaten into extinction’ in Nagaland had never been a new thing.    

For a people that only recently woke to the realities of environmental concerns and the importance of conservation, telling apart conservation from destruction remains a challenge. A case in point is the condition of the Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis), also known as the great Indian hornbill or great pied hornbill. The bird is believed to have been a common sight in Nagaland even half a century ago. However, thanks to hunting, the Great Hornbill is slowly being ‘eaten into extinction.’

Students in Peren district were recently told by conversation campaigners the story of the bird and how the species face annihilation from the hilly forests of the state. 

A local business group, the Fingerprint-Design & Events, are in Peren district campaigning for conservation of wildlife, environment and to education people about Climate Change. The group has the stated goal to visit 175 colleges and schools in Nagaland.

This month, the group visited Jalukie government higher secondary school, St. Xavier School, Christian School, LM School and Barail Valley School, the organizers informed in updates that were issued on Thursday. 

During the visit, the organizers gave the students a lesson in the life of the Great Pied Hornbill. 

“The Great Pied Hornbill known for its beauty, grandeur and alertness is the only bird to have had profound significance in traditions of indigenous people of Nagaland, from age-old days. History has it that the Great Pied Hornbill, considered to be the king of birds, was revered d as a symbol of courage, its feathers could only be worn by a warrior and its image used by chiefs,” the students were told by members of the Fingerprint-Design & Events. 

The bird has been the cultural icon of the Naga with its role and depiction in Naga myths, fables, folklore, songs and dances. 

“But at present, it (the hornbill) is pushed to the brink of extinction in Nagaland and the only known Great Hornbill alive today in Nagaland is named ‘Julie’ which is kept at the State’s  Zoo, Nagaland Zoological Park,” the organizers stated in the updates. 

The campaigners told the students that if said status was the fate of one of the most important birds in Nagaland, then the fate of other less-revered wildlife species can only be imagined.  

“If this is the fate of the most important bird in our state, imagine the fate of the other species, this is the irony of our conservation. Some years from now when this hornbill is no more we better name our state festival as ‘in memory of Hornbill’ festival,” the organizers said.