In a remarkable feat of endurance and instinct, three satellite-tagged Amur Falcons from India’s Manipur—Apapang, Alang, and Ahu—have completed one of the most grueling migratory journeys ever recorded for a small raptor, flying from India to Africa in less than a week. Their journey, tracked as part of the Manipur Amur Falcon Tracking Project led by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has captivated researchers and the public alike, sparking a wave of admiration and curiosity across the internet.
Apapang, the adult male bearing an orange tag, flew a staggering 6,100 km in six days and eight hours, creating “a single unbroken arc across continents,” wrote Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary at Tamil Nadu’s environment department. Alang, the youngest of the trio and wearing yellow, covered 5,600 km in just under a week, with a brief stopover in Maharashtra before embarking on the daunting ocean crossing. Meanwhile, Ahu, the female with a red tag, completed a 5,100-km journey in just five days and fourteen hours, pausing in Bangladesh before skirting Somalia’s northern tip.
Dr Suresh Kumar of the Wildlife Institute of India explained, “These falcons exhibit extraordinary evolutionary survival strategies.” He noted that, due to their terrestrial nature, “Amur Falcons are unable to land on water. Once they take off from India’s eastern coast, it’s a nonstop flight over the Arabian Sea, relying on stored energy reserves built during intense pre-migration feeding, known as ‘hyperphagia’.
“The hero of the season. 6,100 km in 6 days 8 hours nonstop. A single unbroken arc across continents,” Sahu posted on social media, emphasising the exceptional stamina of these 150-gram birds. The tracking project has not only highlighted nature’s wonders but has also underscored the importance of conservation. Once heavily hunted in parts of Nagaland and Manipur, Amur Falcons are now fiercely protected, thanks to successful community-led efforts.
“Their journeys are a testament to nature’s precision—instinct, wind, stamina, and courage. Well done! Contd Bon Voyage!” wrote one online admirer. With Apapang and Alang already resting in Kenya and Ahu soon to follow, these tiny migrants continue to inspire awe across nations.
In a new update on X, Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary at Tamil Nadu’s environment department wrote, “Apapang, Alang and Ahu, the tiny Amur Falcon trio, here are the faces behind the flight and wings behind the wonder ! You will see that while Ahu continues to move around in northern Somalia, both Apapang and Alang have moved on into Tanazania and Kenya respectively. Ahu has stopped at Somalia which is not surprising as they generally do after a long flight. Falcons start to feed again to put on fat reserves that they exhausted during their over sea migration.”
