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Zambian Bird Researcher Claims Kawambwa ‘MAGICAL’ Bird Came From Romania
By Godfrey Chikumbi.
A Zambian bird researcher says the bird that was hacked to death in Kawambwa last week is one of the lesser spotted eagles from Romania tracked to Zambia.
David Ngwenyama; a Zambian bird scientist based in the Bangweulu swamps made the claim in a statement released to tumfweko yesterday.
Mr. Ngwenyama confirmed that the bird was ringed in Romania under a project by Milvus Group which has been tracking eagle birds for the past two years or so.
He said the bird that was linked to superstitution by the locals came from Romania according to information posted on a Milvus group’s website a day after the creature was killed.
The researcher said the so called motorbike and Television was a solar powered Argos 45g satellite transmitter adding that the bird was nicknamed LISA.
He said LISA also had two rings; one with the letters ‘AS’ (easily mistaken with ‘USA’) ands another with letters ‘1395’ (easily confused with 1995).
Mr. Ngwenyama assured the people of Kawambwa that there was no witchcraft or spying involved but that it was purely a scientific research.
He said the eagle was believed to be one of the lesser spotted eagles that are tracked using a 45g Argos solar – powered transmitter that is used to transmit messages.
Mr. Ngwenyama appealed to this reporter to help retrieving the transmitters and rings from the villagers at Mutoba located about 30 kilometers off the Kawambwa – Mansa road.
He added that the Romanian group of researchers desperately needed information that was written on the transmitter and the rings.
He said moments before the bird was killed and burnt, it was spotted in Kawambwa.
Mr. Ngwenyama said if the bird was one of the lesser spotted eagles from Romania, then the transmitter should have Milvus or another identifier written on it.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ngwenyama has said he was using the same transmitters as those that were with the fallen research bird in Bangweulu.
He explained that he was studying the movement and habitat use of some birds in the area.
ENDS/GC/Luapula
Posted by Admin
on October 25, 2011. Filed under LATEST NEWS.
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zambiana
October 25, 2011 at 3:28 pm
You see these villagers and their superstition they killed an experimental bird. UBUTUTU.
syalukaye
October 25, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Hey do not blame those people.I do not think this bird came from Romania as alleged by the guy in Luapula.There is no such news on the milvus group website taliking about some specie of bird killed.The group yes is into bird preservation of extict species like the bird that was killed in Luapula. I feel,the guy just wants to show his ignorance that he was too monitoring the bird using the tech that was on the bird.I though do appreciate that the killing was not good but please,lets only comment when we have the facts.
Ponyax
October 26, 2011 at 1:27 am
@syalukaye You are the one with the facts huh? He didn’t say the Milvus group website had news about the killing of the bird, he said it has information about the species of the bird and the research being carried out on this particular species. He is a bird researcher and so after gathering information on this bird, he did research and found the relevant info on it. I bet if it said British or American bird researcher you’d have believed the article without question. But just because he’s Zambian you have to be skeptical SMH … Since you are such an avid researcher do a lil research on “milvus migrans”
David Ngwenyama
October 26, 2011 at 8:03 am
@Syalukaye, I indicated that the bird was ringed in Romania and that I got confirmation from the Lesser Spotted Eagle research team leader at Milvus that Lisa, one of several birds they are tracking, went missing on the 18th around Kawambwa. They did not know what had happened to the bird until I sent them the article from Tunfweko.
If you go back to their website you will see a link to a map showing bird movements as well as pictures of birds with mounted transmitters.
montana
October 25, 2011 at 3:28 pm
Bro Ngwenya, we told these pipo that this was research…i was almost lynched as the owner of the bird…lol
David Ngwenyama
October 25, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Well, we can’t stop educating our people on the value of science
Chilala Hamulandwe
October 25, 2011 at 3:32 pm
UBUTUTU IFIBANTU , IFYAIPAYA RESEARCH !!!!!!!!!!
IFIBWANGA MUMINTWE. VIONENI VIBANTU
Jerome
October 25, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Abemba Tulo chabe! You Bemba’s tell your relatives in that village to wake up!
iye kwena
October 25, 2011 at 4:00 pm
hahahahaha ama fontini….lol
Shimukokotansono
October 25, 2011 at 4:10 pm
We just don’t take chances. We are africans, those research things are for white pipo. How do u research on birds? wht is there to research on? leave God’s creation alone and free please. There are better things to do than to just chase after animals.
David Ngwenyama
October 25, 2011 at 5:01 pm
@Shimukokotansono research is not specific to any ethinic group, how can you protect what is yours if you don’t even know what you have?
We are doing research on birds to understand how to conserve the birds so that you children and my children will have the pleasure of enjoying them in the future. You can get mor information on Zambian birds from the Zambian Ornithological Society (ZOS) a bird conservation NGO and one of the oldest conservation organizations in Zambia! their website is: http://www.wattledcrane.com.
Bundas
October 25, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Bundas for sale
katongo
October 25, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Ubufutu! so embarrassing!
musonda
October 25, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Ababemba ukupwalala, think!
Bemba Wisdom
October 25, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Fusake.Kupusa bonse ba ku chipata.
Kastro walubita
October 25, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Research my foot!dis is how u hav being disturbing nature…see da weather patterns now very strange.
the eye
October 25, 2011 at 4:38 pm
so embarrassing, and you wonder why we are still behind in just about everything
Kastro walubita
October 25, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Abemba naimwe dipo kumunzi kwa cilamo wake up & visit da teachers/chalkbods.
MP
October 25, 2011 at 4:41 pm
@Tumfweko – the man is not claiming – he is stating a probable fact. The Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS) is widely used for such experiments amongst many other different ones. If the bird was burnt then its a great pity that vast and critical amounts of data have been lost covering a linear distance of 5,520 km and several thousands of square kilometres of bio-diversity that the poor bird had covered.
Chiingu Mwanakapoba Romance
October 25, 2011 at 4:42 pm
matter has been put to rest.
Jematek
October 25, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Antale(Mutale) mwapaya chi nyoni chabene
Dien
October 25, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Dont be so ignorant, without this info you too thought it was a magic bird given your perception of us Luapulans.
Thanx to Tumfweko, you can even manage to have the guts to laugh at us, remember we gave you the great FTJ,MHSRIP.
Sesengwe Super Cop
October 25, 2011 at 5:08 pm
This is a very big challenge to the powers that be to ensure that citizens are educated and are knowlegeble on such issues that seem strange but purely simple and can easily be explained.The researchers had invested alot of money on such a project but it has come to an abrupt end. Hard luck to them and i wish they could define parameters in which to conduct their experiments.
David Ngwenyama
October 25, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Dear Godfrey and Tumfweko,
thank you for publishing this information and for correcting the wrong perception by the community. It should be noted that I have had confirmation that the bird killed was indeed a Lesser Spotted Eagle nicknamed Lisa that was ringed in Romania. Lisa was one of two birds tracked to the area with one going as far down as Mansa before turning back towards Kawambwa but is currently in DRC.
Please keep up the good work of enducating fellow Zambians.
David
kabiki katombela
October 25, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Dien, I am surprised that you can boast of having given us FTJ. If there is anybody who left a bad legacy of Bemba speaking ethnic groups, it was FTJ. That is why he opted to field Levy in 2001, and when he tried to support Sata in 2006 and RB in 2011, they both crushed. How I wish he was alive to see the failure of his political engineering.
kays
October 25, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Another perspective!! how sure are we? are they using it for the research or for spying?
Just thinking outside the box of the so called research! lets scrutinize it and the remainin components!!
David Ngwenyama
October 25, 2011 at 7:17 pm
@Kays I believe its purely research as these birds are endagered and they were trying to find out where they go during the Romanian winter (now) and how they can design conservation programmes to save the species. I don’t know much about spying but I know that the transmitters they are using on provide GPS location,flight speed, altitude and such information. You can google Milvus Group to see the maps of the routes the birds take as well pictures of birds with transmitters.
We are using the same transmitters in Bangweulu Swamps and we are not spying on anyone
Celeb life
October 25, 2011 at 6:20 pm
@Kay,I think I must reason you… Lets analyse their motives beyond Just research.
But ok ubututu bwena ee.
Musonda
October 25, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Well at least now they have been schooled and will not be killing odd looking birds in future. stop ascribing their ignorance to being bemba! As a third world nation they are many things we are ignorant of because we are not technologically and scientifically advanced. We as a nation can also be labeled to be abatutu if compared to other nations some right next door to our own so just because some of you knew it was research doesn’t make you ethnically superior, nayiwe u have something that makes you a bututu, no one is ever completely free of ignorance the difference is some embrace ignorance while others thrive on ridding themselves of it and then there are some that pretend to know a lot and yet no nothing.
FM Katayi
October 25, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Whilst we can condemn the killers of the bird, the bird was either not too well or it was overburdened by some instruments it was carrying. Because under normal circumstances, it was supposed to fly away at the time they started cutting down the tree. Otherwise, the truth of the matter is that the bird was purely for research purpose like I earlier indicated to my tribesmen.
DR CHRISTINE 1ST LADY KASEBA
October 25, 2011 at 9:13 pm
BATUBULU
Woviziba
October 25, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Bo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! But abena Kawambwa balishibata nokucucutika mwe! Ala these birds are ringed by our friends in Europe so as to track their movements for scientific projects. Nomba mwebo fyonse buloshi Yaba. Ubuloshi mwabukoselelapo shani when we dont see you introducing it to a University faculty so we can see how we can benefit from brooms in the nightsky? I could have laughed if it wasn’t for the poor bird you have killed
GonZallez
October 26, 2011 at 2:11 am
ukutemwa ukulebesha ubwilange ne nseba mwasuka mwaipaya nefyabene…mukatuletelela mwefibantu mwe……bembas?awe mwe…………..
oxmos
October 26, 2011 at 6:30 am
mr ngwenyama knows that retriving the info will be paid alot!!! why kill the inocent bird anway? bembas are always superstitious
chagika
October 26, 2011 at 7:44 am
Fellow Zambians, I know just because of our ancestral background we are bound to be superstitious, but before we rush to act on something superstitious let’s learn to consult if the situation can allow especially that we are now blessed with the fastest communication technolgies. Lets hope the information was not burnt as well
Ifipululu Research Director
October 26, 2011 at 8:17 am
Just been on the Milvus website.There is a picture of LISA(Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina)the bird killed in Zambia.It’s trajectory flight shows that it ended in Zambia on the satellite map.It’s tagged number is 41175.Zambians learn to research.
Anani Koffi
October 26, 2011 at 8:23 am
Awee buloshifye mwandini mwalicita bwino. Kuti balacusha shani icuni ukucifwika imbalaminwe? Bushe mwanakashi wakupa????
David Ngwenyama
October 26, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Visit the ZOS (BirdLife Zambia) website to learn about bird research in Zambia. http://www.wattledcrane.com.
mbuya
October 26, 2011 at 10:37 am
TULO MANINGI??? TIZAUKA LITI MWE BANTHU???
mbuya
October 26, 2011 at 10:48 am
SYALUKAYE!! APOLOGISE TO DAVID NGWENAYAMA. IT’S HONOURABLE THING TO DO.
mbuya
October 26, 2011 at 10:50 am
TUMFWENKO. IT NOT A CLAIM BY A ZAMBIAN RESEARCHER. IT IS FACT THAT MILVA IS IN BIRD RESEARCH. JUST BEEN TO THEIR WEBSITE. CHANGE THE TITLE OF THE ARTICLE.
JOzsef
November 11, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Now you can see the birds where they come from
http://www.pomarina.ro/pomarina.html
Jente
November 30, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Here you can see how Lesser Spotted Eagles raise their young before they start their journey to Africa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Rgpd6iqZ0
Best wishes to Zambia!