The ‘light’ of Diwali became ‘darkness of death’ for owls, forest department canceled holidays to save them.

As the festival of Diwali is approaching, the cruel game of sacrificing a voiceless bird in the name of superstition and tantric rituals has also intensified. Yes, we are talking about owls, which many people, out of ignorance, target for sacrifice on the night of Diwali. In view of this danger, the forest departments of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have come on full alert mode.

High alert in Uttarakhand, holidays canceled

The Forest Department and Corbett National Park Administration have geared up to stop smuggling and hunting of owls in areas like Ramnagar, Nainital and Dehradun of Uttarakhand.

• The hunting of owls is being strictly monitored 24 hours a day.
• The leaves of all the employees of the Forest Department have been cancelled.
• The Corbett administration has appealed to the people that if anyone gets any information about illegal hunting of owl or any other wild animal, they should immediately inform the forest department.

Why are owls so important for us?

The Forest Department says that this is not just a violation of wildlife protection law, but is also a huge threat to our environment. Owls are nature’s ‘farmer friends’. They control the population of rats and other crop-damaging creatures by eating them, thus maintaining the balance of the ecosystem.

There is maximum danger in these areas of Uttar Pradesh

Like Uttarakhand, cases of hunting and smuggling of owls increase around Diwali in Uttar Pradesh too. Owls are found most in the ravines of Etawah in UP and it is here that smugglers are most active. Apart from this, many rare species like Barn Owl are also found in districts like Kanpur, Meerut, Rampur and Pilibhit. Dozens of species like Indian Eagle Owl and Brown Fish Owl are present in the Meerut region of western Uttar Pradesh alone, which are now under threat.

What we think of as ‘owl’ is actually a superhero!

Even though in common parlance we use the word ‘owl’ to call someone a fool, in reality this bird is a ‘superhero’ of nature. You will be surprised to know its features:

• Sharp hearing power: It can hear even the rustling of leaves in the dark from a great distance.
• Excellent Night Vision: Its eyes can see many times better than humans even in the dark of night.
• Silent Killer: The structure of its wings is such that when it flies, there is no sound at all. For this reason, it catches its prey without giving any sound.
• Unique radar system: It emits special types of waves from its body, which when returned after colliding with the prey, it comes to know the exact location of its prey.

So, this Diwali, don’t fall into superstition and help save this amazing bird. He is not a fool, but a precious and wise protector of nature.