Warning signals flash for endangered birds

Breeding program

A captive-breeding program is underway－an important step to boost the green peafowl population and save the species from extinction.

In 2019, with help from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, workers started artificially breeding 21 green peafowl. By the end of that year, more than 170 eggs were produced, with 24 of them hatching successfully.

Yang said this initial success inspired researchers to carefully plan efforts to boost the green peafowl population, adding, "The success of the captive-breeding program offers new hope for the survival of one of the world's most-threatened pheasants."

However, problems have been reported with the program. Han said DNA tests showed that many newborns were not pure-bred green peafowl, but the reason for this is not yet known.

Yang Xing, head of the Birds Observation Association in Yuxi, said a yearlong survey that was started in April last year found that isolated habitats are a major crisis for the green peafowl.

"Habitats that used to be connected are now isolated by human activities, villages, roads and farmland. A lack of mating opportunities across different groups has resulted in an increasing number of newborns with physiological defects and a low hatching rate," Yang said.

Green peafowl in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, which is more than 400 kilometers from the species' major groups in Yuxi, have experienced birth defects among their young in recent years, according to the survey.

As green peafowl habitats are scattered across the province, Han and his team have been trying to link them by creating tree belts to provide a natural breeding ground for the birds.

"We got scientists and local residents involved and established 'corridors' in small areas of habitat for rare and endangered species, forming a protection net," Han said, explaining that the corridors consist of the green peafowl's favorite plants.

"This protection method is more suited to China's current land-use status and the situation in the country. Therefore, we believe this is where we should make more efforts in the future," he said.