Wings of Florican

Less than 1000 Bengal floricans remain in the world. One of their last strongholds is in the grasslands of Manas tiger reserve, and the locals’ paddyfields. The gravest threat to them is the disappearance of these short-grass habitats and mechanised farming which can damage their nests and chicks. 

Why Wings of Florican

The Wings of Florican initiative was started to protect continue protecting this critically endangered bird in the Koklabari Seeds Farm and Rangapani villages amidst , in the face of unprecedented change in land-use practices,. uncontrolled tourism and jeeps driven off the trails inside the protected area and the changing social fabric of the local community. This human-dominated landscape houses about 25 Bengal Florican individuals, making it an important habitat for the endangered species. 

This project is follows the journey of Rangjalu Basumatary, who first witnessed the dramatic courtship rituals of the florican with its distinctive bounding displays rising from the paddy fields, when he was a young cowherd grazing his cattle. 

Over the past fifteen years, Rangjalu has developed a strong desire to conserve this landscape, which was slowly recovering from decades of political and social instability. He worked as the public relations head of thewith Manas Maozegendri Society as the public relations head, a local NGO often lauded as being one of the catalysts for the revival of Manas which was , a UNESCO world heritage site that was classified at risk of being lost. He was then selected for the Green Hub Fellowship, where he learnt the foundations of storytelling and conservation and engaged in building his expertise working across projects in the northeast. Following this, he joined WWF-India and Aaranyak, where he worked on applied elephant conservation projects such as radio-collaring elephants, and engaging in building community institutions to reduce wildlife conflicts. 

How do we achieve that?

The team catalyses local youth and leadership to inspire local residents of all ages, to take action to protect the ‘pride of the Bodos’. Through intensive monitoring of birds, organising workshops and creating a shared context and sense of identity among farmers, villagers, , and children. 

The Journey So Far

While building knowledge on birds and grasslands, they also aim to create a shared sense of responsibility and pride among the people living in the region. 

In collaboration with Zankla Studio, they created soft toys of the bird using traditional Bodo clothes. This play between art and science has inspired many across the landscape to conserve the species. Since 2024, the attractive toy has been used in outreach and awareness programmes across 11 villages. Traditional hunters have also given up their arms and pledged to conserve the birds thereby strengthening their resolve and becoming and exemplifying environmental stewardship in the region. 

With support from (donors) they purchased binoculars to strengthen our bird monitoring work in the region. Through their persistent efforts in mobilizing the community, they have a dedicated and passionate team of young volunteers who conduct fieldwork and other outreach activities. 

With a growing team of volunteers, the youth actively participates in bird monitoring, outreach and other necessary conservation activities. 

Rangjalu and his team is now setting up a knowledge exchange centre as part of his Responsible Tourism fellowship with support from Green Hub and Royal Enfield. This unique initiative focuses on hosting people from different disciplines to educate, train and enhance their skills in their respective background in exchange of learning from the team about the landscape, its ecology and the Bengal Florican itself. 

Learn more about the journey