Context:
Recently, Spot Bellied Eagle Owl (Bubo Nipalensis) was spotted for the first time in Seshachalam forest, and for the third time in Andhra Pradesh.
Relevance:
GS III: Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- Spot-bellied Eagle Owl (also known as the Forest eagle-owl)
- IUCN and CITES Status
Spot-bellied Eagle Owl (also known as the Forest eagle-owl)
- A large owl species typically found in wooded areas such as forests and rocky hillsides.
- Known for their distinctive spots on their belly
- Large, powerful and bold predatory birds
- Known for its strange scream that resembles a human, called “Ghost of the Forest” in India.
- Found in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
- Known to prey on large birds and also on mammals such as golden jackals, hares, civets, and chevrotains.
IUCN and CITES Status:
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list: “Least Concern”.
- CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) : Appendix II.
-Source: The Hindu
