Whereas people battling hard with the soaring atmospheric temperature in Terai belt of the mountainous State, officials concerned of the Pt GB Pant high altitude zoo in Nainital are sweating nowadays in welcoming the newly born chicks of Cheer Pheasant, a rare variety of pheasant of Schedule-1 and other guests in rather moderate climatic conditions of the lake City.
The arrival of the new guests in the family of the said rare variety of Cheer Pheasant has attracted the attention of all particularly the wildlife experts in a big way as they are here of the view that increase in the family members of the Cheer Pheasant is a good sign of wildlife conservation. However, with birth of four new species, the number of the family members of this rare variety of Cheer pheasant has gone now to eight. The interesting fact is that as the time for egg laying season is at its peak, the officials concerned of the high altitude zoo are still expecting an expansion to the family of this Cheer pheasant.
Over a dozen newborn chicks have added to the population of different variety of pheasants this season, said Manoj Shah, Range Officer, Nainital Zoo while talking to The Pioneer. With two newborn chicks while the population of lady Amherst’s Pheasant has now gone up to 29, the number of Golden Pheasant has gone up to 22 with three newborn species, he added.
Similarly, the Silver Pheasants’ number has gone up to 10 from eight with two newborn chicks, while two new members have also joined the Kalji Pheasant family leading to the number of total family members of the Kalji Pheasant up to 25, he added.
Thus with arrival of over a dozen newborn chicks, the total number of different variety of the pheasants has gone to about 94 in the Nainital Zoo, as the officials concerned maintained. Since the egg lying season still continues, therefore we are still hoping increase in the family members of different variety of the pheasants, Shah expressed hope.
The growth in terms of increasing population of particularly the Cheer Pheasant is a big achievement as this Cheer pheasant is a rare variety of the pheasant that comes under the Schedule-1 of the endangered species, the Range Officer of the Nainital zoo maintained.