About:
- Owls are mostly nocturnal birds of prey, feeding mainly on small mammals, but also taking reptiles, insects, birds and Fish.
- Owls live in a variety of habitats, from deserts to forests and including human habits in most parts of the world.
- Most own species are nocturnal and adapted for Hunting as dusk or in the dark.
- Owls belong to the Order Strigiformes, which is categorized into two families:
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Family Tytonidae (Barn owls)
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· Owls from this family have a heart-shaped disk completely encircling the face with a longer and narrower skull than typical owls.
· The legs are relatively long.
· 3 species of this family are known from India.
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Family Strigidae (Owls)
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· These are Typical owls with a round facial disk.
· The legs are relatively short.
· 27 species of this family are known from India.
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- Owls and illegal trade: Of 30 species of owls found in India, 15 are traded illegally. The spotted owlet (Athene brama), barn owl (Tyto alba) and rock eagle-owl (Bubo bengalensis) are the most commonly recorded species in the illegal trade.
- Protection:
- Owls are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, which prohibits hunting, trade or any other form of utilisation of the species or their body parts.
- Their international trade is restricted under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
- In Indian Culture:
- In the Rig Veda (an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns), owls are referred to as Uluka and Khargala.
- The owl is associated with the goddess Chamunda and appears in iconography as her vehicle from the 5-6th century AD onwards.
Owl Sacrifice during Diwali Celebrations:
- The report titled ‘Imperilled Custodians of the Night’ was released by TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network) in 2010. It looks into illegal owl trade in India.
- Key findings of the report:
- Owls are Poached for variety of purposes, including folk medicines, black magic rituals during Diwali etc.
- Owls, especially those with “ears” (tufts), are thought to possess the “greatest magical powers” and Diwali is claimed to be the most auspicious time for sacrificing an owl.
- Sacrifice of owls begins with the onset of Dussehra and continues till Diwali.
- In this background, TRAFFIC has recently issued an advisory to enforcement agencies calling for increased efforts to help curb trafficking and sacrifice of owls.
