Guwahati: The globally endangered greater adjutant stork has found a new place of breeding in Assam - an artificial nesting platform.

Wildlife conservationist Purnima Barman, the force behind the hargila army, has built a 65-foot nesting platform in Dadara-Pachariya area in Kamrup district in a bid to find an alternative breeding spot.

"Many nesting trees have either been cut down by villagers in the past few years or fallen prey to natural causes. I erected a bamboo nesting platform next to the traditional location in Dadara-Pachariya as an experiment," she said.

She said her experiment was successful as a pair of greater adjutant storks made a nest on the platform and a female stork was incubating its eggs. "This is the first time greater adjutant storks are breeding on an artificial nesting platform. This may be a permanent answer to save endangered large birds that are finding it difficult to find a tree in their traditional nesting locations," she said.

Purnima, who is associated with Aaranyak, has been working in Dadara and Pachariya villages to save the bird. She has been nominated for the 2018 Indianapolis Conservation Award. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature , its total population is estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,800 and 800 of them are in Assam.

"Seven nesting trees fell this year. We built the platform with limited resources. But now I am confident we can expand this initiative. Conservationists can try this method to protect other endangered species," she said, eagerly awaiting the "baby birds to hatch and fly away". Former Gauhati University professor Dhiren Kumar Sharma said, "I am very happy that her hard work has paid off."

"It is an excellent way to ensure the species finds enough nesting sites," said Simon N. Stuart, adviser to the steering committee, IUCN Species Survival Commission.