The Hornbill has always been enshrined with the culture and ethos of Northeast India. The tales of this old world tropical bird is inherent in our mythology and legends. From being a messenger of God to one who brings peace, it has espoused itself in our tribal mythos in countless ways. Unfortunately, due to rampant hunting and intense habitat loss, our ambassador of folklore has been declared extinct in most of the places. But in a place called Seijosa in the Pakke Kessang district of Arunachal Pradesh, Hornbills had a different fate. The locals who were once the hunters themselves realised the necessity to revive the Hornbill population due to which Seijosa has now turned into a land of the Hornbills.
Inhabited by the Nyishi tribe Seijosa is a small town on the banks of Pakhui (Pakke) River. It is one of the lesser known tourist destinations of Arunachal Pradesh but it is as captivating as any other places within the state. At present, Seijosa is mostly visited by wildlife researchers, conservationist and botanist but this place has huge tourism potential.
Pakke Tiger Reserve & the Hornbills
This sleepy town is the gateway to the Pakke Tiger Reserve. It spreads over an area of 861.95 sq km and has Tigers, Elephant, Gaur, Sambar, Barking Deer, Leopard and four different varieties of Hornbills inside its territory. In 2016, it has won the prestigious India Biodiversity Award in the category of ‘Conservation of Threatened Species’ for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Program.
Hornbill Conservation Efforts in Seijosa
Due to high forest cover and lower human population pressure, hornbills are more abundant in Arunachal Pradesh than in any other states of Northeast India. But the habitat loss and its hunting for flesh and beak (that Nyishi man uses on their traditional headgear) made the bird vulnerable and the population started dwindling.
It was in 2003 when the Nyishis of Seijosa realised that Hornbills are fast vanishing and they put a ban on Hornbill hunting in Pakke Tiger Reserve and the adjoining areas. From that year onwards the forest department and Wildlife Trust of India worked with the local community to distribute artificial beaks that gradually replaced the original ones.
In the next couple of years, more than 140 youth from the area were recruited in the Special Tiger Protection Force, which was formed to man the jungle from the poachers and local hunters. In 2006 the Ghora Aabhe Society was formed, it is a society of village headman from the nearby villages who intensified the awareness programs in their respective villages. They conducted awareness programs to let local people surrender their guns among other activities that helped in reviving the Hornbill population in Seijosa.
In 2011, Nature Conservation Foundation started a unique Hornbill Nest Adoption Program (HNAP) in association with Ghora Aabhe Society. Under this program 12 villagers from 10 different villages were employed to find, monitor and protect Hornbill nests. So far they have successfully protected around 40 Hornbills and helped 103 Hornbill chicks to fledge making Seijosa the land of the Hornbills.
Under the ‘Hornbill Nest Adaption Program’, you can become a Hornbill parent by adopting a nest. To know more about the program you can visit the website of National Conservation Foundation.
Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival
The best time to visit Seijosa is during the Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival. Declared as a state festival to boost tourism and to encourage people of India and abroad to participate in the conservation effort, it celebrates the role of a local Nyishi community to conserve and safeguard their Paga (it is the Nyishi word for Hornbill). The three-day annual festival takes place from January 18 to 20 at Darlong village on the banks of Pakke River, with Pakke Tiger Reserve at its backdrop.
Local stalls are set at the venue selling artifacts and delectable tribal cuisines of Arunachal Pradesh. Awareness, cultural, sporting as well as fashion events are also organised in the course of three days. You can even camp with us just next to the Pakke Tiger Reserve. An elephant and jeep safari are also organised at early morning and evening hours to take you to a primeval world of the virgin evergreen forest. The swooshing sound of the Hornbill’s flight towards their roosting nest at evening resonates in the silence of the forests to hypnotize everyone to keep staring at them without a blink of an eye.
Life in Seijosa
Seijosa is an ideal place if you want to spend days wandering the quietness of a forest while embracing the local culture and tradition. A Guided Nyishi Village Walk in the quaint villages will also make you understand about how the locals have inherited the Hornbill conservation in their day to day life. Butterfly and birding trails have also been developed by the forest official as day activities to acquaint you with the rich avian and butterfly fauna of the region.
An Inner Line Permit to enter Seijosa can be applied online and you can stay at homestays or Forest Guest House. There are also wooden huts made by the Ghora Aabhe Society where you can plan your stay. The nearest airport is at Tezpur and Guwahati in Assam and it takes around three hours from Tezpur and six hours from Guwahati to reach this place.
There is still much work required to build on the conservation legacy of the Hornbills. Your visit to discover the arduous journey of conserving and preserving the Hornbills will inspire the local communities to work harder and better. Seijosa awaits you all!
* The featured images of the Wreathed Hornbill has been photographed by Mr. Kalyan Varma from National Conservation Foundation.
