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Bandung zoo keepers share challenges of breeding green peafowls
The last strongholds for the species are located in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia’s island of Java, with the remaining population estimated to range between 5,000 and 10,000.
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A male peacock displays his feathers at Hlawga National Park, in Mingaladon, north of Yangon, on Jan. 29, 2015. The extravagant lengths that males will go to catch the eye of the opposite sex could ultimately cost some species their survival, researchers suggested on April 11, 2018. (AFP/Ye Aung Thu)
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nimal keepers at Bandung Zoological Garden in West Java revealed that breeding green peafowls, a species listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, was not an easy matter due to their fragile nature.
Gilang Ihsan, who has been working at the park for a year to take care of the birds said only a small portion of peafowl eggs produced in the zoo would hatch into chicks, despite being monitored carefully during incubation.
Just recently, only two out of the total 14 eggs incubated since August that have managed to hatch out—bringing the zoo’s collection of peafowls up to 23.
Eight of the eggs failed to come out of the shells, while the remaining four are still being incubated.
“The incubator temperature must be maintained at 37 degrees Celsius, and the humidity has to be around 60 percent,” Gilang said on Sunday. “Hopefully the remaining four will hatch too.”
Bandung Zoological Garden bird curator Panji Ahmad Fauzan said breeding the endangered species was challenging because even adult peafowls could suddenly die for no apparent reason.
The rate may reach 50 percent, he said, adding that the zoo management had conducted regular evaluations to ensure the birds’ wellbeing.
The green peafowl is a species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. The last strongholds for the species are located in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia’s island of Java, with the remaining population estimated to range between 5,000 and 10,000.
Male peafowls, or peacocks, are known for their beautiful tail feathers that form a big round shape when raised, symbolizing their authority over a particular territory. (vny)
