easy prey: A spot-bellied eagle owl

June 14: It is said to hypnotise, mesmerise and increase virility. It is also fast heading towards extinction.

The spot-bellied eagle owl — the huge, formidable bird that was once found in droves in the forests of Cachar and Hailakandi — is down to the last 80, or at the most, a hundred.

Known as the “devil bird” in Sri Lanka for its “human-like call”, the eagle owl has a fan following among practitioners of vodooism and witchcraft in India because of its bone-chilling gaze.

An organised gang that regularly traps and smuggles the bird out of the Barak Valley has ensured that the spot-bellied eagle owl, which was not so uncommon in these parts, finds mention in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Partly to blame for this depletion in population, is of course, the denudation of forests. But the few that remain in parts of Cachar, Hailakandi, North Cachar Hills, Karbi Anglong and Nameri National Park are fast falling prey to bird stealers from Uttar Pradesh.

The birds are also found in Myanmar and Vietnam.

Forest officials in Cachar said at least two eagle owls were recently captured from Hailakandi district.

The price for one such rare owl now ranges between Rs 75,000 and 1 00,000, which shows why the stealers bear the trouble of trudging through dense forests to capture these birds.

A senior forest official in Hailakandi today said the forest department had sounded an alert to stop expeditions by forest sharks.

They have also sought help and information from villagers and forest-dwellers to stall expeditions by bird-hunters.