Jorhat: As many as 62 Asian openbill storks were killed and 68 were injured in a storm that swept through Jorhat on Monday.The storks, locally known as ‘shamukbhonga’, were affected when heavy rain and strong winds damaged their nests and uprooted a tree along DCB Road, where a large colony had taken shelter.According to residents, the tree collapsed during the storm, crushing several birds. Strong winds also damaged nests and blew birds from the roosting trees, leaving many injured on the roadside and beneath fallen branches.Residents launched rescue efforts and alerted the forest department. The injured birds are being taken to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga for treatment and rehabilitation. The centre is jointly managed by the Wildlife Trust of India and the Assam forest department.“We saw birds falling from the trees as the storm intensified. Many were trapped under the fallen branches. We immediately started rescuing the injured birds and informed the forest department,” a resident said.The dead storks will undergo post-mortem examinations before being buried, a forest official said.“We were alerted early in the morning and immediately mobilised our teams. Our priority is ensuring the injured birds receive prompt veterinary care,” a forest department official said, adding that arrangements have been made to transfer the injured storks to the CWRC, Kaziranga, for treatment.The incident has highlighted the vulnerability of Jorhat’s roadside nesting colonies. On Aug 17, eight Asian openbill storks died, and 18 were injured in a similar incident on DCB Road. The rescued birds were also sent to CWRC.Trees along KK Baruah Road and DCB Road have become seasonal breeding grounds for the storks, which return during the monsoon, between June and July, to nest in large colonies before dispersing around Dec-Jan.Conservationists, including “Forest Man of India” Jadav Payeng, have called for the protection of the nesting trees, on which hundreds of storks depend each year.The Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) is a wading bird of the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is found across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia and is associated with wetlands, flooded fields and other shallow-water habitats. Its distinctive bill has a gap between the upper and lower mandibles in adults.
