The Inevitable Flight
Encyclopedia
The Inevitable Flight is a documentary film
made by Pakistan
i documentary filmmaker, Azfar Rizvi.
and Hazara University, whose expansion plans will necessitate the relocation of the pheasantry.
and research
purposes by the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Wildlife Department in 1984, and with the support of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Dhodial Pheasantry
is the World Pheasant Association’s first project in the wild. It is located on the Karakoram Highway
, in Mansehra
, Mansehra District
, Pakistan
.
Home to 34 of the 52 species of pheasants found in the world, the pheasantry now covers twenty acres. Peafowl
, the Crested Kalij, Lady Amherst
, Siamese Fireback
, Western Tragopan
, Blue Eared Pheasant
, Brown Eared Pheasant
, White Eared Pheasant, Ring-necked Pheasant, Cheer Pheasant
, and the Himalayan Monal
are just some of the species housed by the pheasantry that are explored in the documentary.
One of the Pheasantry’s many successes is housing the world’s largest flock of Cheer pheasants raised in captivity. This bird became extinct in the 1970s, and is now being re-introduced in the country. The pheasantry, besides accomplishing its primary purpose, also aims to educate the public about pheasant culture. In pursuit of this, the NWFP Wildlife Department formed an NWFP Wildlife Conservation Club. The Mansehra Club, alone, includes over three dozen public and private schools. The club focuses on strengthening the relationship between youth and nature. The documentary brings to light how diverse peoples can, and do, come together on a shared platform for the love of nature.
Adding a spiritual element to this film that investigates the nature of conservation
is the story of Welsh ecologist Robert Whale. Robert Whale's decision to get married and stay back in Pakistan is an important element of the story being told. He made a deal with God, that if he caught a glimpse of the infamous Western Tragopan
on film, he would embrace Islam
. Now known as Rab Nawaz, he converted to Islam in 1998.
Furthermore, the documentary unravels the on-going conflict of the pheasantry’s re-location to alternate land such as the Jaba Sheep Farm, in order to accommodate Hazara University’s eventual expansion. The farm’s director, Dr. Ghufranullah, has made clear that their livestock
exceeds 600. The land that they have is enough only to cater to their own needs, as opposed to accommodating the needs of Dhodial Pheasantry as well. Hazara University wants to give preference to humans over birds. It is aiming for an eventual student count of 20,000 along the course of the expansion.
Chief Conservator of the Wildlife Department, Dr. Mumtaz Malik is concerned with the process of shifting habitats. Sometimes, birds can die as a result of tremendous stress level, which is incomparable to human stress level. Another huge issue is reports that the poultry
farm that used to exist at the Jaba location earlier experienced bird flu and other diseases. As a result, entire flocks of poultry were wiped out. This is reinforced by the Zareef Khan Foundation’s president, Abid Zareef, whose NGO works for education
empowerment
. He maintains that there is the risk of transmission
of both sheep and pheasant diseases. There is more danger in the spreading of diseases as there are no crosswind
s because the location is surrounded by hills.
The film exposes all sides of the issue with a variety of stakeholder perspectives that sheds light on both the advantages and disadvantages of this inevitable relocation.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
made by Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i documentary filmmaker, Azfar Rizvi.
Subject
The film records the ongoing conflict between Dhodial PheasantryDhodial Pheasantry
Dhodial Pheasantry is a pheasantry and breeding center for several species of pheasants situated in Mansehra District, Pakistan. It has been set up for the purposes of research, conservation, tourism and education...
and Hazara University, whose expansion plans will necessitate the relocation of the pheasantry.
Background
Established for breedingBreeding in the wild
Breeding in the wild is the natural process of animal reproduction occurring in the natural habitat of a given species. This terminology is distinct from animal husbandry or breeding of species in captivity...
and research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
purposes by the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Wildlife Department in 1984, and with the support of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Dhodial Pheasantry
Dhodial Pheasantry
Dhodial Pheasantry is a pheasantry and breeding center for several species of pheasants situated in Mansehra District, Pakistan. It has been set up for the purposes of research, conservation, tourism and education...
is the World Pheasant Association’s first project in the wild. It is located on the Karakoram Highway
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway is the highest paved international road in the world, but at its peak at the China-Pakistan border it is only paved on the Chinese side. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of as confirmed by both...
, in Mansehra
Mansehra
Mansehra city is located at in Mansehra District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is very near to Abbottabad city. It is a major stop for tourists on the Karakoram Highway which leads to China...
, Mansehra District
Mansehra District
Mansehra District is in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, an area still unofficially known as the Northwest Frontier. Mansehra district and town are named after Man Singh, a leading general of Mughal Emperor Akbar...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Home to 34 of the 52 species of pheasants found in the world, the pheasantry now covers twenty acres. Peafowl
Peafowl
Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...
, the Crested Kalij, Lady Amherst
Lady Amherst's Pheasant
The Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Chrysolophus amherstiae, is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae.These are native to south western China and Myanmar, but have been introduced elsewhere, and have established a self-supporting, but now declining, feral population in England, the...
, Siamese Fireback
Siamese Fireback
The Siamese Fireback, Lophura diardi also known as Diard's Fireback is a medium-sized, approximately 80 cm long, pheasant. The male has a grey plumage with an extensive red facial skin, crimson legs and feet, ornamental black crest feathers, reddish brown iris and long curved blackish tail...
, Western Tragopan
Western Tragopan
The Western Tragopan or Western Horned Tragopan is a medium-sized brightly plumaged pheasant found along the Himalayas from Hazara in northern Pakistan in the west to Uttarakhand within India to the east...
, Blue Eared Pheasant
Blue Eared Pheasant
The Blue Eared Pheasant, Crossoptilon auritum is a large, up to 96 cm long, dark blue-grey pheasant with velvet black crown, red bare facial skin, yellow iris, long white ear coverts behind the eyes and crimson legs. Its tail of twenty-four elongated bluish grey feathers is curved, loose and...
, Brown Eared Pheasant
Brown Eared Pheasant
The Brown Eared Pheasant, Crossoptilon mantchuricum is a large, up to 100 cm long, dark brown pheasant of mountain forests of northern China. It has stiff white ear coverts behind the eyes, which look like a moustache. The crown is black with red bare facial skin and its tail of twenty-two...
, White Eared Pheasant, Ring-necked Pheasant, Cheer Pheasant
Cheer Pheasant
The Cheer Pheasant, Catreus wallichii also known as Wallich's Pheasant is an endangered species of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the only member in monotypic genus Catreus...
, and the Himalayan Monal
Himalayan Monal
The Himalayan Monal, Lophophorus impejanus also known as the Impeyan Monal or Impeyan Pheasant or Danphe is a bird of genus Lophophorus of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the Danfe, and the state bird of Uttarakhand.Traditionally, the...
are just some of the species housed by the pheasantry that are explored in the documentary.
One of the Pheasantry’s many successes is housing the world’s largest flock of Cheer pheasants raised in captivity. This bird became extinct in the 1970s, and is now being re-introduced in the country. The pheasantry, besides accomplishing its primary purpose, also aims to educate the public about pheasant culture. In pursuit of this, the NWFP Wildlife Department formed an NWFP Wildlife Conservation Club. The Mansehra Club, alone, includes over three dozen public and private schools. The club focuses on strengthening the relationship between youth and nature. The documentary brings to light how diverse peoples can, and do, come together on a shared platform for the love of nature.
Synopsis
What began with an accidental glance over a written piece on the pheasantry’s eventual replacement took shape into a full-length documentary film. Dhodial Pheasantry, beyond everything else that it has done for conservation, and pheasant conservation in particular, put Pakistan on the map. The documentary aims at one thing alone - to leave its viewers with facts that allow them to decide for themselves whether it is Hazara University or Dhodial Pheasantry that is faced with an unjust inevitability.Adding a spiritual element to this film that investigates the nature of conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
is the story of Welsh ecologist Robert Whale. Robert Whale's decision to get married and stay back in Pakistan is an important element of the story being told. He made a deal with God, that if he caught a glimpse of the infamous Western Tragopan
Western Tragopan
The Western Tragopan or Western Horned Tragopan is a medium-sized brightly plumaged pheasant found along the Himalayas from Hazara in northern Pakistan in the west to Uttarakhand within India to the east...
on film, he would embrace Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Now known as Rab Nawaz, he converted to Islam in 1998.
Furthermore, the documentary unravels the on-going conflict of the pheasantry’s re-location to alternate land such as the Jaba Sheep Farm, in order to accommodate Hazara University’s eventual expansion. The farm’s director, Dr. Ghufranullah, has made clear that their livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
exceeds 600. The land that they have is enough only to cater to their own needs, as opposed to accommodating the needs of Dhodial Pheasantry as well. Hazara University wants to give preference to humans over birds. It is aiming for an eventual student count of 20,000 along the course of the expansion.
Chief Conservator of the Wildlife Department, Dr. Mumtaz Malik is concerned with the process of shifting habitats. Sometimes, birds can die as a result of tremendous stress level, which is incomparable to human stress level. Another huge issue is reports that the poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
farm that used to exist at the Jaba location earlier experienced bird flu and other diseases. As a result, entire flocks of poultry were wiped out. This is reinforced by the Zareef Khan Foundation’s president, Abid Zareef, whose NGO works for education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
empowerment
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities...
. He maintains that there is the risk of transmission
Transmission (medicine)
In medicine and biology, transmission is the passing of a communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a conspecific individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual was previously infected...
of both sheep and pheasant diseases. There is more danger in the spreading of diseases as there are no crosswind
Crosswind
A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of travel. In aviation, a crosswind is the component of wind that is blowing across the runway making landings and take-offs more difficult than if the wind were blowing straight down the runway...
s because the location is surrounded by hills.
The film exposes all sides of the issue with a variety of stakeholder perspectives that sheds light on both the advantages and disadvantages of this inevitable relocation.