HYDERABAD, Dec 4 — A stone quarry in Telangana’s Vikarabad district has suspended operations for nearly a month after five eggs of a rare rock eagle owl were found at the site, officials said on Thursday.
Vikarabad District Forest Officer Gnaneswar said the department stepped in after wildlife photographer Manoj Kumar Vittapu spotted the bird and its eggs during a visit to the Yenkathala grasslands about six days ago. “He immediately informed our PCCF, C. Suvarna, and we were asked to take quick safety measures,” he said.
Forest staff reached the quarry and informed unit owner Laxma Reddy about the presence of the protected bird. “The owner agreed not to disturb the bird till the hatchlings fly,” Gnaneswar said, adding that officials have been monitoring the nest every day.
The rock eagle owl, largely found in Southeast Asia, prefers rocky landscapes. “It’s a rare species though not an endangered one. Sightings are uncommon,” the officer said. The eggs are expected to hatch in around 15 days, and officials say the young birds may take another 20–25 days before they can fly.
Vittapu, who is also joint secretary of the Telangana Photographic Society, said he noticed the eggs “between the quarry cliff and the ground” during a birding trip on November 30. He said the earthmover driver stopped work immediately after being told. “It’s a miracle we reached at that moment. Had mining continued, the eggs would have fallen and broken,” he said.
WWF representatives and animal activists later joined efforts to alert officials. Reddy, the quarry owner, said he suspended work as soon as he learned the eggs belonged to a rare species.
