After achieving significant success in breeding Cheer Pheasants in captivity, Himachal Government has released 11 captive-bred birds into the wild under its ongoing conservation and breeding programme for the threatened bird species in the State.
This is for the second time that the captive- bred Cheer Pheasants has been introduced in the forest with an aim to re-establish their declining population in the natural habitat.
In October last year, 13 birds were released in the forest in rural Shimla. Out of them, one adult Cheer Pheasant has managed to survive for more than one year and was recently captured in camera traps set up by the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department.
The development has raised hopes that a calamitous decline in Cheer Pheasants’ numbers can be reversed through the ongoing breeding and conservation programme.
It was nearly two decades back when this programme for the threatened bird species was launched in the hill state. Currently, the Breeding Centre for the Cheer Pheasant at Khadiyun, Chail has 56 birds being raised in enclosures.
According to the state’s Forest Department, there were around 40 pairs of Cheer Pheasants in Chail Wildlife Sanctuary at an average density of 6 pairs per Km2 in April 1979.
However, their population had declined by around 50 percent between 1979 and 1983 due to various reasons including human disturbances. Their global population is stated to be less than 2,700 birds.
“11 captive-bred Cheer Pheasants including six adults and five chicks have been released in the forest.
A fortnight back, these birds were shifted to soft-pens set up at Seri village in district Shimla, to help them to adapt to the area’s climate and environment,” said Krishan Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh Forest Department while talking to The Pioneer.
“Fortunately, three families i.e. all 11 birds including chicks survived in the soft-pens and have been subsequently released in the same area.
The adult birds aged between four-eight years are fitted with very high frequency (VHF) radio collars that will allow the Forest Department to monitor their movement,” he said.
Last year, 13 out of 18 birds had survived the soft-release and were subsequently introduced into the forest, the DFO added.
In a promising sign of success of the conservation programme, the Forest Department has found that out of 13 Cheer Pheasants released last year, an adult has managed to survive for more than one year.
Apart from this, a female Cheer Pheasant had also laid six eggs in the wild however the hatching was not successful.
The Department is also hopeful that another adult, whose GPS signal was lost after 300 days, might have also survived in the wild.
The Cheer Pheasant with a long and broad, barred tail, red facial skin, a prominent crest, grayish plumage and proportionally short legs, usually prefer terrain with steep gradients that are characterized by a combination of low shrubs and tall, dense grass.
Notably, Cheer Pheasants are found in India, Pakistan and Nepal. In India, Himachal alone represents seven species of Pheasants out of total seventeen species found in the country.
Out of seven, two species namely Western Tragopan, the national bird of Himachal and Cheer Pheasants are listed in IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened birds globally.