Let’s stalk the pink chicks of Muzaffargarh

It happened on a hot July morning. With a group of researchers, I set out for a routine wildlife survey half an hour’s drive from Muzaffargarh, in the sprawling wetlands of South Punjab. The vital but fragile lowland ecosystem is made up of 18 interlinked saline and freshwater lakes, river floodplains, oxbow lakes, and seasonal marshes. Here, 45km west of Multan, the Indus River gets to catch its breath after cascading steep glaciers and alpine lakes. As its flow turns leisurely in the alluvial plains, the river turns into an indispensable sanctuary for foreign and local feathered friends like wintering waterfowls, waders, raptors, and divers. But on that hot July morning, this ecological…