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Site description (2004 baseline):

Telineelapuram is located c. 5 km east of Tekkali town in Srikakulam district. The Telineelapuram Gram Panchayat (village council) governs four villages: Telineelapuram (460 ha), Viswanadhapuram and Vemalavada (410 ha), and Srirangam (56.3 ha). Very large numbers of Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis and Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala breed in these villages, mainly on Prosopis chilensis. Some nests are also found on Tamarindus indica and Enterolobium saman. Common trees of human habitations, such as Azadirachta indica, Tamarindus indicus, Enterolobium saman and the introduced Prosopis chilensis, are widespread at the site.

AVIFAUNA: This breeding colony is surviving mainly because of the protection provided by villagers, who consider them sacred and auspicious. If the birds fail to come for breeding (in drought years), villagers believe that harm will come to them. About 150 pelicans and about 250 Painted Stork breed regularly at Telineelapuram. The pelicans mainly breed on four large Ficus trees, while the storks breed on Acacia trees. Their main foraging ground is at Kakarpally Creek, locally known as Kakarapally parras, located about 10 km from the Telineelapuram heronry. The creek spreads over 1000 ha and fills up with sea water during high tide. This site is selected as an IBA solely for its importance as a breeding site of the globally threatened Spot-billed Pelican.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: There is no mammalian fauna of any significance, as the IBA site is located in a village.

MAIN THREATS: Unregulated and insensitive tourism; Poaching outside the villages; Excessive fishing.

The village community was protecting the nesting colony for many generations, but once it came into the limelight, the Forest Department took over to give legal protection to the birds and to the nesting site. It has now become quite popular among bird watchers and tourists. Some of the visitors go too close to the nests and disturb them. Tourism has to be regulated and, if necessary, prohibited during the early stages when the chicks are small. Unfortunately, the Forest Department has constructed a watch tower very close to the nesting trees. This should be demolished and a new tower constructed a little farther, if at all necessary. As the villagers actively protect the birds, the Forest Department, with local NGOs and the village council, should spend funds in developing a bird rescue and rearing centre, instead of wasting money on building watchtowers. Facilities to rear chicks which fall out of the nests and abandoned should be developed. Visakha Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, based in Visakhapatnam has been campaigning against poaching of birds in and around this site. The birds are totally protected inside the villages, but while foraging in the surrounding wetlands, they fall prey to poachers and trappers.

Key contributor: V. Kannan.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Telineelapuram (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/telineelapuram-iba-india on 28/11/2024.