After finding a peacock, a satellite transmission will be attached to the bird which will help us keep track and records of its daily activities, informed Conservation Chief at Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) Jyotendra Thakuri. [break]
Including Thakuri, the team comprises senior conservationist Dr Hemsagar Baral, an English conservationist Dr Charlot Pacman, a bird specialist from Germany Marcus, and Shambhu Ghimire of Himal Prakriti. Among others, Marcus from Germany has done his PhD on the same species of the peacock. Representatives from the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation will also assist to conduct research works.
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"In the first phase, we will be attaching transmitters to two peacocks and collect possible records from them. These high tech transmitters were brought to us from the international fellow conservationists,´ said Thakuri.
"During the beginning of winter and monsoon seasons, it is very hard to find birds. With the attachment of these transmitters, we will easily know about their activities during these seasons," he added.
After the completion of internal preparations, the team will head toward the western part of the reserve in search of the birds, informed Thakur. "After inspecting the area for two days, the task of catching the birds and fixing the transmitters will continue for a week,"said Thakuri adding, "Capturing these birds is not a piece of cake, it involves techniques and hardwork."
Research and tracking of these birds were also done earlier, but with no satellite transmitters. The use of instruments like cameras, binoculars and telescopes was popular in the past. Even though these birds were studied, the exact data of the birds and their daily activities is still left to be researched, informed Thakuri.
Of late, more than a dozen of these birds in pair have been spotted in the reserve.
"After completing the work in the reserve, we will continue the task in Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, Chitwan National Park and Bardia National Park from next year," said Thakuri.
Based on the research conducted on these birds in 1982, the number of Florican in Nepal reaches between 56 to 82, but another research conducted in 2007 indicated that 56 percent of their population had decreased.
This current research will clear all doubts, shares the conservationists.
With the total population reaching to nearly 1000 around the globe, most of these birds are found in India and Cambodia.
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