Legends will tell you that flamingoes are no ordinary visitors to Kutch. They were the honoured guests of King Lakho and he had forbidden the hunting of flamingoes which came to Kutch from various parts of the world every year to breed. For centuries, the region had been a haven for the migratory birds. Today, Flamingo City, an island in the middle of the Rann of Kutch, known the world over as one of the biggest breeding grounds of the Greater Flamingo, is strewn with bodies of hundreds of flamingo chicks. The parents of these chicks have fled from the island due to lack of food. Zooplanktons, algae and the small fish that these birds survive on are dying due to a sudden increase in the salinity of the Rann waters. One can even see dead fish floating. Flamingoes need salt encrusted, damp mud to build nests. The place where they build their nests has to be inaccessible to predatory cats and birds. It should also have sufficient food. The right mix of sweet and brackish water in the Rann is crucial for the proliferation of planktons and algae that the flamingoes feed on. Faced with starvation, flamingoes have fled from the island leaving their chicks to fend for themselves. Till date around a thousand flamingoes have died. Maharaj Kumarshi Himmatsinghji, a member of the royal family of Kutch and an expert on the birds of Kutch, traces the problem of increased salinity in the Rann waters to the construction of dams on rivers that flow into the region. He emphasizes that effort should be made to ensure that, at least, some water flows into the Rann. In fact over the years, the number of flamingoes coming to the island have decreased because of the change in salinity of the Rann water. In 1945, Salim Ali, the late ornithologist, had found 5 lakh birds on the island. Since then, the number has not gone above 2.2 lakh. However, the studies carried out on the Flamingo City so far cannot be taken as 100 percent accurate because very few ornithologists have conducted regular studies on flamingoes in the area. The reason : the terrain is so inhospitable that it is simply not possible to visit the place every year. Says Himmatsinghji, "The ringing of flamingoes is mandatory to conduct accurate and long term studies on the birds. "Unfortunately, ever since Flamingo City was discovered in 1893, not a single bird has been ringed. No wonder questions like from where these birds migrate every year remain only partially answered.
(a) Why do Ornithologists find it difficult to conduct regular studies on flamingos in the Rann?
(b) What is mandatory to conduct long term studies on the birds?
(c) Why was Kutch referred to as a haven for flamingoes?
(d) Give one necessary condition for the flamingoes to build their nests?
(e) What is the reason for the death of the flora and fauna in the Rann waters?
(f) Why has the salinity in the Rann waters increased?
(g) When was the Flamingo City discovered?
(h) Where is the Flamingo City?
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(a) because the terrain is so inhospitable that it is almost impossible to visit the place every year.
(b) The ringing of flamingoes is mandatory.
(c) because their hunting was forbidden there.
(d) (i) Salt-encrusted, damp mud
(ii) The place has to be inaccessible to predatory cats and birds.
(iii) It should have sufficient food.
(iv) The place should have the right mix of sweet and brackish water.
(e) It is dying due to a sudden increase in the salinity of the Rann waters.
(f) It is due to the construction of dams on rivers that flow into the region.
(g) in 1893.
(h) Flamingo city is an island in the middle of the Rann of Kutch.
Explanation:
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