The tiny bird covered an astonishing 3,100 kilometres in just 76 hours, an aerial marathon that saw him slice across central India, glide past Gujarat, and skim out over the Arabian Sea.
Three new aerial travellers are rewriting the limits of endurance in the natural world.
On November 11 2025, wildlife scientists tagged three Amur Falcons, Apapang (an adult male), Alang (a young female), and Ahu (an adult female), as part of the Manipur Amur Falcon Tracking Project (Phase 2) led by the Wildlife Institute of India. Within days, one of them has already emerged as the season’s breakout performer.
Apapang, wearing the orange track on the satellite map, has surprised even veteran trackers. Barely 150 grams in weight, he launched into an extraordinary non-stop flight soon after tagging.
In just 76 hours, he has covered an astonishing 3,100 kilometres, an aerial marathon that saw him slice across central India, glide past Gujarat, and skim out over the Arabian Sea.
With favourable easterly tailwinds boosting his speed, Apapang has been averaging nearly 1,000 kilometres a day, a pace that places him among the fastest migrating raptors on the planet.
But the real test is only beginning.
Along with Alang (yellow track) and Ahu (red track), Apapang is now attempting the most dangerous segment of the Amur Falcon’s annual migration: a nonstop 6,000-kilometre oceanic crossing from India to Somalia.
With no place to rest, feed, or retreat, the Arabian Sea becomes a vast gamble of energy, endurance, and favourable weather. Only a handful of migratory species undertake such long, uninterrupted flights, and the Amur Falcon is among the smallest of them.
Their journey began in the dense forests and farmlands of Manipur, a crucial stopover site where thousands of Amur Falcons refuel each winter during their journey from East Asia to southern Africa.
Once victims of rampant hunting, the birds are now part of a celebrated community-led conservation success story. Manipur’s villages have transformed into guardians of the species, turning falcon season into a symbol of coexistence and pride.
