MYSTERY OF JATINGA

Last week we released this video on the Mysterious phenomenon of birds committing suicide in JATINGA.
Here we have written a bit about this mystery. 

Commonly known as the valley of death for birds, Jatinga is a small village on a ridge, is located in Dima Hasao district (DHD), in the state Assam. The place has damsel like beauty with scenic mountains surrounding it. It is famous for The Bird Suicide Mystery. Not only the Migratory birds, but the local birds also do similar things here in Jatinga. It's a natural phenomenon nobody has been able to explain. But Jatinga's mysterious annual event of migratory birds committing mass suicide has now attracted the eyes of many scientists.

Over the last 100 years, thousands of birds have flown to their death over this small strip of land. In a town of only 2,500 people, this bizarre Bermuda Triangle of foul death remains largely unexplained, despite studies by India’s most prestigious ornithologists.

It happens in the late monsoon months between September and November and ideally, the phenomenon is seen on dark moonless nights between 7 p.m. to 10 p.m when there is fog, cloud, and mist. Strangely becoming disoriented, the birds plunge toward the torches and lights of the village and collide with obstacles on their path.

Earlier it was held by the villagers that the evil spirits flying in the skies are responsible for bringing these birds down. And only some species of birds that offend the spirits are brought down. But in times of science, many ornithologists have dedicated their time to research of this unnatural phenomenon. They have found that there are many species of local birds such as Kingfishers, Pond Heron, Black Bittern, Tiger Bittern, etc. are subjected to such strange behavior. Studies have also revealed that the birds commit suicide in Jatinga during the late monsoon as most of the water bodies in Assam are flooded by that time. The birds lose their natural habitat. They have to migrate to other places. Jatinga falls in their migratory path. 

In 1988 when Assam faced severe floods the maximum number of bird suicides was reported in Jatinga. Some of the long-distance migratory birds are not affected by this phenomenon.

However, contrary to the popular belief, birds do not commit suicide. Under circumstances not yet fully explained, these birds get caught in the fog and wind, get disoriented and seek the solace of the light sources put out by the villagers. They hit against trees or other objects and get injured in their flight towards the light source. The villagers hit the hovering birds with bamboo poles or catapults to bring them down

Various studies have been conducted to unravel the causes behind this phenomenon. The record maintained shows that 44 species have been attracted to the light sources. It has been established that the birds are not attracted to the entire Jatinga Ridge but only to a well-defined strip, 1.5 km long and 200 meters wide.

Wildlife and bird societies in India have gone to the village to educate them about the phenomenon in an attempt to stop the mass killings of the birds. Since then bird deaths have decreased by forty percent. Government officials in Assam are hoping to use the phenomenon to attract tourists to the small city, and some work has gone into creating accommodations for visitors in Jatinga.

Even if the villagers kill some of the birds, what causes the birds to get disoriented, behave strangely and plunge towards the lights still remains a mystery. 

Real reasons behind the Jatinga bird's suicide phenomenon cannot be confirmed as there are different reasons cited by the researchers. But Jatinga is not the only place in the world where such weird behavior of birds is noticed. This phenomenon is also seen in Philippines, Malaysia and another state of India Mizoram.

Sources: http://www.assaminfo.com, http://www.atlasobscura.com