Much after the last summer tourist had packed his bags and headed back to the plains, Shimla had a set of curious visitors. They were not tourists who asked to be taken to the Mall; instead they headed straight to the Sarahan bird pheasantry, 170 km from Shimla. For the first time ever, Himachal’s wildlife department has succeeded in breeding the western tragopan in captivity. The tragopan is a highly endangered bird found along the Himalayas from Hazara in northern Pakistan to Uttarakhand. From 10,000 a decade back, the worldwide population of the brilliantly colourful bird has dipped to 2,500. Wildlife conservationists say the eight healthy chicks bring new hope for the species. While the natural mother hatched two eggs, local jungle hens helped the mother by keeping the other six eggs warm. Earlier efforts at getting the mother hen to hatch eggs had failed with the lady refusing to sit on her eggs. “Nowhere in the world have tragopan eggs been hatched by natural mothers in captivity. It required a great deal of expertise and technique,” says Dr Lalit Mohan, state conservator of wildlife. Satpal Dhiman, a range officer at the pheasantry, says, “Their activities are regularly monitored. We are very particular about their hygiene and diet.” Efforts to breed the bird in captivity started in the late nineties when the Himachal Pradesh wildlife department realised the need to protect the bird. But it was only after the Central Zoo Authority sanctioned a Rs five crore project that the wildlife department took up the project. John Corder, a known conservationist from the UK, was also associated with the project. In India, the tragopan is found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Tehri Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttranchal.
