“It was believed that Amur Falcons were seen since hundred years back during the time of our forefathers, and they  called  the Amur Falcons as ‘Eninum’ in Lotha language,” narrated P Thungchumo Shidio, Amur Falcon Roosting Area Union (AFRAU) Pangti Village President during  the commemoration of ten years of Amur Falcon conservation in Nagaland held on November 3.

Pangti Village in Wokha, which is rich in flora and fauna, is also known as the ‘Falcon Capital Of The World’. Narrating his childhood memories , Shidio said they witnessed the Amur Falcons flying in the sky in search of flying termites in the evening. The migratory birds were recognised only after damming the Doyang river by Doyang Hydro Power Station (DHPS) under NEEPCO Lt. in 2000, according to Shidio.

“The Amur Falcons arrives during the second week of October and stays till the end of November every year. The migratory birds were first spotted roosting at Tzuza Eryu, Pangti Village under Wokha District Nagaland in the year 2001 in flock of thousands. And in the subsequent years, the flock gradually increased to massive in numbers. But owing to the lack of awareness for conservation of wildlife, the villagers, hunters in tradition started hunting the birds in commercial scale for sustenance from 2006 to 2012,” stated Shidio.

Using fishing nets from tree to tree to catch the Amur Falcons, the villagers would often sell the birds in the market place and earn about Rs. 20,000/- per day.

However, the massive killing of Amur Falcons were brought to fore in 2012 – 2013 through the efforts of the Conservation India and its associates, Forest Department, The Nagaland Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation Trust Of India and NGOs. And following the exposure of the random killing of Amur Falcons till October 2012, awareness campaign for conservation and protection of the migratory birds, Amur Falcons were started on war footing in 2013 by the State Forest and Wildlife and various departments and NGOs like Conservation Trust, BHS etc. involving the entire community, Roosting Area Land Owners, Village Councils Churches etc. “Responding to the awareness campaign, the Roosting Area Land Owners, the Village Councils together with the entire community resolved to conserve and protect the Amur Falcons in Pangti Village and prohibited the killing of Amur Falcons in any form in 2013. And in 2014, the Roosting Area Land Owners formed an NGO Group called ‘Amur Falcon Roosting Area Union (AFRAU) Pangti Village’ to conserve and protect the Amur Falcons and till  today and said the AFRAU Pangti Village is consider as the main protector of the Amur Falcons,” stated Shidio.

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However, in 2021 the night roosting of the Amur Falcons has been shifted to the upper stream of Doyang Dam under the jurisdiction of Are Old Village, some 2, 3 Kms away from their original roosting place, Tzuza Eryu Pangti Village.

According to Shidio, the reason behind the shifting of the night roosting place might be because of “the climate change, deforestation or human habitation”. However, day roosting is being done in Pangti Village

In recognition for its efforts for conservation and protection of the Amur Falcons, Pangti Village has been conferred with various prestigious awards by the various agencies:

1. ‘The Meritorious Award 2014’ by the Department of Forest, Government of Nagaland.
2. ‘The Governors Commendation Certificate’ by Government of Nagaland.
3. ‘The Earth Heroes Award 2014’ by the Royal Banks of Scotland.
4. ‘The Balipara Foundation Annual Award 2014’ by Government of Assam.