Pelicans enliven Gowthavaram again

Giddalur: Pelicans from Siberia have one more hideout in Andhra Pradesh, the Gowthavaram village in Racharla mandal of Prakasam district. The village is the birth place for millions of pelicans for hundreds of years, but lost its sheen due to inadequate facilities and hunter menace few years ago. Now, due to the love and efforts of the locals, the pelicans have been returning to Gowthavaram for the last couple of years.

Unlike human beings, pelicans make it a point to visit the birth place every year and spend more than six months. Thousands of pelicans come in every December, build nests, rear the young ones and return to their adopted place. The Siberian pelican birds travel in pairs to Gowthavaram every year and build nest on the tamarind trees and lay eggs. They hunt fish in the nearby Cumbum tank, second largest in Asia, in the nights and feed the babies.

P Venkateswaraiah, a local said that these winged visitors are very particular to choose the tamarind trees because of its difficulty for any person to reach the upper branches. He says that they do not allow anyone to hunt them now, not even if the birds damage the crops and pollute water resources. He said that in fact they receive more produce from the crops when these guests visit their farms.

Though these birds are visiting the village for hundreds of years, the government didn’t make any special arrangements for them as it is doing in Kolleru and other areas.