Pair of ‘vulnerable’ cheer pheasants released into wild near Shimla
Notably, the first set of cheer pheasants were released into the wild in Seri village, Darbhog, by the department in October 3, 2019, as part of the larger programme of conservation breeding and reintroduction of cheer pheasants to restore population of the bird in historical habitats, which has seen declining or locally extinct populations owing to anthropogenic interference and biotic pressures
Amid dwindling population, the forest department released a pair Cheer Pheasants, categorised as vulnerable under The International Union for Conservation of Nature, into the wild in Shilli Mehla, a village in Cheog near Shimla.
The pair had been reared at the Khundian wildlife pheasantry near the tourist destination Chail.
Divisional forest officer Ravi Shankar, said, “The released birds will now be monitored intensively by a team of research assistant, forest guard and field assistant. Pursuant to this purpose, 12 camera traps have been laid across the habitat in the radius of 1-2 square kms from the soft pen.”
Notably, the first set of cheer pheasants were released into the wild in Seri village, Darbhog, by the department in October 3, 2019, as part of the larger programme of conservation breeding and reintroduction of cheer pheasants to restore population of the bird in historical habitats, which has seen declining or locally extinct populations owing to anthropogenic interference and biotic pressures.
The wing in 2003 set up the aviary at Khudian village near Chail. It then drew up a project with help of John Corder, a breeding expert from the World Pheasant Association and achieved “parent rearing” of cheer pheasant in captivity at Chail. The Central Zoo Authority then gave its nod for the conservation breeding project in 2006.
A total of 12 birds have been released into the wild in the last two years. These birds were shifted into the soft pen at the site a month before after safe transportation in padded wooden boxes from the breeding centre in Khundian, Chail and veterinary screening of blood samples.
The department has since established resident breeding pairs in Seri village.
An intensive site survey to identify a suitable release site was also carried out and Shilli-Mehla was found conducive for survival of pheasants as it has ideal grassland and roosting habitat. The survey indicated that the site also had a low population of cheer pheasants and occasional presence of the birds.
For the first time in 1979, the department conducted a survey to estimate the cheer pheasant population in the Chail Sanctuary. The surveyors found 40 pairs of pheasants in the sanctuary area. Four years later, the population declined by 50%.
Birds to be tracked using VHF tags
The birds released in the wild have been fitted with VHF tags emitting a signal that enables the wildlife team to track them through radio surveillance.
“We are hopeful that birds adapt to the wild habitat conditions and are able to survive till the next breeding season – April - June”, Shankar said.
All the birds were ringed with colour-codes based on family and one bird of each family was tagged with VHF tag. The forest department held training programmes for the wildlife staff ahead of the release.
