Maharashtra govt declares Thane creek area as 'Flamingo Sanctuary'

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has declared the area along Thane Creek as Flamingo Sanctuary, which will be spread over an area of 1,690 hectares, including 896 hectares of mangroves and 794 hectares of adjacent water body. ‘“The Revenue and Forests Department has issued a notification declaring the Thane Creek as Flamingo Sanctuary,” N Vasudevan, Chief Conservator of Forests, Mangrove Cell, said in Mumbai on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_102907” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “The notification was issued on August 6, declaring the northern part of Thane Creek as a Wildlife Sanctuary under Sec. 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” Vasudevan said. The Sanctuary, which is named as the “Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary” will be Maharashtra’s second Marine sanctuary, after Malvan. It will be spread over an area of 1,690 hectares, which includes 896 hectares of mangroves and 794 hectares of adjacent water body, he said. The Sanctuary will be located on the western bank of the Thane Creek, between the Airoli and Vashi bridges that connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai. The eco-sensitive zone of the Sanctuary will be the adjoining mangrove areas on either side of the creek, which are already notified as Reserve Forests. The ‘Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit’ under the Mangrove Cell will be responsible for the management of the Sanctuary. Since 1994, the Thane Creek has been attracting flamingos in large numbers. By November, over 30,000 of these beautiful birds, along with their chicks descend in Mumbai and occupy the mudflats and the bordering mangroves. They stay in Mumbai till May, after which most of them migrate to the Bhuj area of Gujarat for breeding, leaving a small resident population. Almost 90 per cent of the Flamingo population consists of Lesser Flamingos and the remaining are Greater Flamingos. A large number of waders are also spotted along with them. Besides supporting a large congregation of Flamingos, the area is a refuge for many other resident and migratory birds. In all, about 200 species of birds have been reported from this area, which include Globally Threatened Species like the Greater Spotted Eagle. PTI