MARIWAN, Iran - Kurdish villagers in western Iran launched a dance festival on Saturday to welcome the annual migration of storks to their village in a move celebrated by environmental groups at a time that Iranian environmental police is struggling to cope with the increase in the number of hunting sprees of migrant birds. Residents of a village, Darreh Tefi, in Mariwan, organized a festival for the first time this year to welcome the storks. Locals gathered in their traditional Kurdish clothes to put on shows, and to sing and dance along to their folk music. According to Kurdish folklore, the arrival of storks to a land comes with peace and prosperity. The organizers hope to turn the festival into an annual tradition. The storks arrive in Darreh Tefi, located on the shores of Zrebar lake, at the end of the winter, attracting many tourists and nature lovers during the spring. Darreh Tefi is used as a stopover for the migratory birds on their journey towards the warmer temperatures of Saudi Arabia. They begin their mating season in the village, setting up nests on oak trees and electric poles. Locals in the village prepared around 800 nests for the storks as a symbol of greeting. They said the storks had made a habit of arriving in their village a long time ago and never caused any harm to the local population. According to the residents, the storks may cause trouble only if they are harmed first. The aim of the festival organized in the village is to encourage people to take better care of animals. These storks have a life expectancy of around 20 years and their height is approximately just over 1 meter. In other parts of Iran however, the storks are welcomed with gunfire and death instead of anticipation. Earlier this month, around 100 hunters went on an illegal hunting spree targeting storks. According to Iranian state media, the hunters were protesting the introduction of hunting licenses in the area. The Environment Protection Units intervened and four guards received minor injuries while attempting to stop the hunters.
