IWMB Emphasizes Need for Awareness on Nature, Wildlife

APP

Islamabad: -The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has emphasized the need for awareness among the masses on nature and wildlife protection in the pristine protected area of the Margalla Hills National Park.

The IWMB being the custodian of the national park is responsible to ensure the safeguard of nature reserves including the diverse biodiversity, tree cover, and wildlife.

The Board for the first time initiated animal and birdlife rescue efforts in the federal capital that received an overwhelming response from the public where teenagers mostly call the IWMB to rescue and provide first aid to injured birds and animals.

As the Margalla Hills are home to numerous species of medicinal plants, trees, herbs and shrubs, birds, reptiles and mammals, the IWMB has set certain standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines to be followed by the visitors and tourists to avoid damage to the ecology, a senior IWMB official said on Tuesday.

The IWMB official said the Margalla Hills National Park had caught the spotlight after becoming the home of the endangered Common Asian Leopards thriving environment.

Recently, the IWMB has successfully released an injured Indian Eagle Owl after rehabilitation into the wild area of Shah Allah Ditta that was rescued from the garden of a house in Sector E-11.

The Indian Eagle Owl scientifically named Bubo bengalensis is also known as the rock eagle owl and Bengal Eagle Owl is commonly found in the region of Margalla Hills National Park, particularly in the caves of Shah Allah Ditta caves, he informed. He added that the Indian eagle-owl was a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent.

The official informed that the owl was brought a couple of days back from E-11 after an individual reported its presence in his garden. The injured owl was given proper treatment and rehab at the IWMB office and was released into the wild after getting healthy, he added.