Guwahati, Mar 21 (PTI) Two pairs of globally endangered White Winged Wood Duck, the state bird of Assam, have been brought here from a zoo in Czech Republic, a forest department official said on Monday.

The birds, bred in captivity, arrived on Sunday and have been quarantined at the Assam State Zoo here for a mandatory period, Divisional Forest Officer, Assam State Zoo, Dr Ashwini Kumar, said.

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“Several people and organisations have helped us in providing us with the two beautiful pairs of the species and worked against all odds to ensure that the birds are safely transported to Assam. We welcome them back to their home,” Kumar said.

The bird species was earlier found across the South East Asian countries and northeastern India. It is the state bird of Assam and now only 800 to 1,000 of them survive globally, of which 450 are found in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

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Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said that it is “homecoming of our very own white-winged wood duck and these two rare endangered pairs of beautiful species will be the cynosure of all eyes”.

In Assam, it is called the 'deo-hanh' (divine duck), and found in the key protected areas of Nameri National Park, Dibru Saikhowa National Park and the recently upgraded Dihing Patkai National Park.

A small population of the species also lives in the Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)