By understanding the tradition and traditions of Mongolia, conservationists have developed focused outreach within the hopes of saving one of many rarest birds alongside the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
On the finish of the Dalmatian Pelican breeding season in 2006, a researcher was looking out alongside the shores of Lake Airag in western Mongolia for indicators of the birds, when he occurred upon the carcass of a younger pelican. In accordance with a report in Birding Asia from the next 12 months, “the pinnacle of this chicken had been chopped off and was lacking.” Whereas we will’t be sure what occurred to this pelican in its last moments, or what occurred to its severed head, we will take a superb guess. Looking stays a serious menace to this magnificent migratory chicken in Mongolia.
Dalmatian pelicans are the biggest and rarest water chicken in Mongolia and East Asia. The inhabitants of this species in East Asia consists of lower than 150 people that nest solely within the western a part of Mongolia and spend the winter within the coastal areas of japanese China. Poaching, local weather change and related habitat degradation all contribute to the decline of the Dalmatian Pelican inhabitants in East Asia. As well as, the birds that nest alongside the Khar-Us Lake islands face threats from herders that mow the vegetation and graze their livestock on the land within the winter, inflicting additional habitat degradation. The Wildlife Science and Conservation Heart (WSCC) has been organizing varied outreach and analysis actions, in addition to conferences with the intention to enhance the safety of Dalmatian pelicans that breed and summer time in Mongolia.
Dalmatian Pelican, copyright Zoltan Baczo, from the surfbirds galleries
Placing an finish to poaching with the Federation of Mongolia Horse Racing Sport and Trainers
Using pelican beaks to make horse sweat scrapers is one other main issue driving the Dalmatian Pelican’s inhabitants to the brink of extinction. It’s a long-held perception that brushing your horse with these combs helps them to carry out higher and quicker in races. Nevertheless, the searching of those birds for the usage of their beaks has brought about undue hurt to the pelican inhabitants in Mongolia. Since 2014, WSCC researchers have collected info on the sale and buy of Dalmatian pelican beaks on social media, Fb teams, and classifieds websites. In accordance with this info, since 2014 there was greater than 150 advertisements printed with affords to purchase and promote Dalmatian pelican beaks, displaying us that this menace stays pervasive.
To fight this menace, we turned to the organizations with probably the most affect. The Federation of Mongolia Horse Racing Sport and Trainers is a sports activities affiliation with a few years of historical past and expertise managing and organizing horse races throughout all provinces and areas in Mongolia. We reached out to them and requested for his or her assist in our conservation actions. After a gathering with the chief of the affiliation, they agreed to assist us unfold the phrase to discourage horsemen from utilizing pelican beaks.
We’ve additionally collaborated with the Common Division of Border Safety, the Ecological Police, and the Division of Skilled Inspection to cease the unlawful pelican beak commerce, from the possession of beaks, importing of them, and the dissemination of details about unlawful beaks on social networks.
Collaborating with the Buddhist protectors of all residing beings
In Mongolia, 60% of individuals over the age of 15 comply with a faith. Greater than 90% of them comply with the faith of God. Subsequently, in our nation, probably the most efficient outreach strategies is to name for nature conservation work by means of the pinnacle of the faith that a lot of the inhabitants worships. We’re at present working with the Mongolian Buddhist Affiliation, which is the primary affiliation of Buddhism devotees and monasteries in Mongolia. We collectively organized an occasion referred to as “Let’s defend our Mom Earth with the teachings of the Buddha.” This occasion lined the unlawful commerce and poaching of untamed animals, unlawful use of organs from wild animals and the merchandise derived from them, and referred to as upon occasion goers to refuse to violate the pure rights of animals. Nice representatives of Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia, and spiritual leaders all attended this occasion.
Nyambayar Batbayar, the Director of WSCC, in addition to myself, gave a speak about nature conservation by means of Buddhism and referred to as upon all Buddhist temples and monks to hitch within the safety of the Dalmatian Pelican. On the finish of the occasion, the representatives referred to as on all Buddhist temples and monks to unite their voices and contribute to nature conservation by calling for his or her parishioners to cease utilizing pelican beaks in horse racing occasions.
The Dalmatian Pelican Job Power
If we wish to make sure the survival of the Dalmatian Pelican in East Asia, worldwide cooperation on conservation and analysis actions is a should. To just do that, in 2019, Dalmatian Pelican consultants convened close to one of many final identified breeding colonies in Mongolia. Right here, they mentioned the necessity for a conservation administration plan for the species.
Regardless of being categorized as Critically Endangered by the Animal Regulation of Mongolia and having a dwindling inhabitants within the wild, the Dalmatian Pelican has lacked a devoted conservation administration plan in Mongolia. To deal with this deficiency, in March 2022, in coordination with the EAAFP Dalmatian Pelican Job Power, we organized one other key stakeholder assembly in Mongolia. Throughout this assembly, the stakeholders recognized the conservation actions which are required for the profitable restoration of the species in Mongolia. These embrace extra consciousness actions, pelican analysis, and placing an finish to poaching.
Taking a lead from these Dalmatian Pelican Job Power conferences, WSCC has began a number of analysis initiatives with its companions to evaluate the habitat situations of the Dalmatian pelican at Khar-Us Lake and Airag Lake in western Mongolia. These two lakes are probably the most crucial breeding areas for the pelicans as a result of they assist the final breeding pairs and supply a protected place for non-breeding pelicans as effectively.
Unveiling unknown threats to the Dalmatian Pelican
In 2020, the WSCC workforce started a research on the migration of Dalmatian Pelicans from their Mongolian breeding grounds. We tracked 5 Dalmatian pelicans utilizing GPS transmitters. From this monitoring work, we’ve discovered quite a lot of vital, beforehand lacking details about the pelicans, reminiscent of migration routes, dates, timing, stopover websites, and wintering websites. GPS monitoring work has revealed that the pelicans could also be struggling lack of appropriate stopover websites all through Mongolia throughout their migration. As soon as the pelicans arrive in China and coastal areas, the birds appear to be safer.
Following the announcement of our preliminary findings, we had been contacted by a authorities workplace in South Gobi province. They’d discovered concerning the pelican scenario and expressed their willingness to help us in safeguarding one of many very important stopover websites inside their jurisdiction. This was a very exceptional second. In September 2023, they efficiently accomplished the development of fencing round spring water sources to ascertain a safe resting space for pelicans throughout their migratory journey. We hope that there extra individuals will come ahead to assist us on this approach in close to future.
Increasing environmental schooling and public consciousness efforts
Public consciousness concerning the crucial scenario of the Dalmatian Pelican is vital for our success. We’ve disseminated details about Dalmatian Pelican analysis and conservation actions to the communities surrounding Khar-Us and Airaq Lakes, in addition to conservationists, haymakers, highschool college students, and resolution makers. This helps us appeal to extra individuals to the conservation of this uncommon species
Yearly on World Migratory Fowl Day, we additionally arrange public consciousness occasions for college and highschool college students. At these occasions we at all times spotlight the biggest and rarest waterbird in Mongolia and East Asia, the Dalmatian Pelican. We utilise printed supplies reminiscent of posters, leaflets, and illustrated booklets to speak info and messages associated to pelican conservation in Mongolia and East Asia. As well as, we began a Fb web page with the primary function of enhancing pelican safety by exchanging info on the safety of the birds and their habitats.
All of those strategies of outreach, by means of sporting associations, spiritual leaders, conservation practitioners and celebratory neighborhood occasions have confirmed to be invaluable in reaching the native individuals who share the panorama with these birds. We hope that these efforts result in extra care and concern for the shortage of the Dalmatian Pelican and their habitats in Mongolia.
