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Falcon's Epic 4,750km Nonstop Flight Stuns Scientists
5 May
Summary
- Apapang completed a 4,750 km flight in 95 hours from Somalia.
- The Amur falcon flew non-stop over various regions before stopping.
- Three falcons named after local rivers began their migration in 2025.
An adult male Amur falcon, nicknamed Apapang, has concluded an extraordinary non-stop flight of nearly 4,750 kilometers from Somalia, taking 95 hours to complete. Scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India have been meticulously tracking Apapang's migratory route.
Apapang's recent journey involved flying over the Vindhyas, making a brief stop near the Sone river, and later near Gaya. This follows an even longer migration in November 2025, where Apapang flew 6,100 km to Kenya. Two other tagged falcons, Ahu and Alang, are still in Somalia.
These Amur falcons undertake an annual journey of approximately 20,000 km. They breed in Russia and China, migrating to Africa and returning via Afghanistan and East Asia. The birds arrive in Nagaland and Manipur in October before their significant non-stop flights. The radio-tagging program, initiated in November 2018, aims to support conservation efforts for these protected raptors, listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
