Work stopped at quarry near Hyderabad to let rare rock eagle owl hatch eggs

Quarrying in Telangana’s Vikarabad district was halted for a month to protect a rare rock eagle owl nesting with five eggs. Forest officials and wildlife photographers coordinated swift action, with the quarry owner agreeing to pause operations until the hatchlings fly

Hyderabad: In an environment-friendly gesture, quarrying has been stopped for about a month at a stone quarry in Vikarabad district in Telangana to let a rock eagle owl, a rare bird, hatch its eggs.

The Telangana forest department quickly swung into action after being alerted by wildlife photographers and conservationists about the presence of the bird and the eggs.

---

Vikarabad District Forest Officer Gnaneswar said on Thursday that wildlife photographer Manoj Kumar Vittapu, who visited the grassland at Yenkathala in Vikarabad about six days ago, informed the Telangana’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) C Suvarna about the presence of the rock eagle owl and its five eggs.

The PCCF asked the Vikarabad district forest officials to quickly take safety measures.

The forest department personnel who reached the site informed the stone crushing unit owner Laxma Reddy about the presence of rare bird species and the eggs, he said.

The unit owner agreed not to disturb the bird till the hatchlings fly.

The forest department personnel have been keeping a close watch on the bird since then on a daily basis, Gnaneswar said.

The rock eagle owl, which preys on insects, rats and others, is mainly found in South East Asia. Compared to other owls, it inhabits rocky areas, he said.

“It’s a rare species though it is not endangered. Its sighting is rare,” the official said.

Though it is not known when the bird laid the eggs at the Yenkathala grassland, it is expected that hatching would happen in another 15 days. The hatchlings would fly away if protective care is taken for 20-25 days, he said.

The rock eagle owl incubates the eggs and ensures that they remain warm, he added.

Vittapu, who is also joint secretary of Telangana Photographic Society, said that he visited the Yenkathala grasslands as part of a birding visit on November 30. He said he noticed the eggs which were located between the quarry cliff and the ground.

The earthmover driver at the quarry stopped the mining (stone crushing) after being alerted. The driver and other personnel were aware of the presence of the bird.

“It’s a miracle that we reached there at that time because mining was underway on the ground. Had mining continued, the eggs would have fallen on the ground and broken. People there were not aware of the presence of the eggs,” Vittapu said.

The WWF and animal activists reached out to forest department officials to take measures to safeguard the rock eagle owl and the eggs, he said.

The quarry owner said he halted the work at the site after being told about the presence of eggs of the rare bird.