Daan-e-gir in Kashmiri, Western Tragopan is a schedule I species on the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List, the western tragopan is a medium-sized, brightly colored pheasant endemic to the western Himalayas and inhabits coniferous forests.
The survey was carried after interactions with locals revealed the possible presence of the Western Tragopan in the area. A team from WTI and assisted by locals, visited the areas in May to authenticate the information. During the survey, the birds were sighted at the Kalamund-Tatakuti and Khara Rakh areas of the Pir Panjal range.
A victim of rampant poaching for its meat and plumage and habitat degradation and fragmentation, the western tragopan has previously been reported only from Kazinag range and Kishtawar National Park in the state. A few scattered records occur from Sud Mahadeo area of Jammu province.
“I was pleasantly surprised to note the tragopan’s presence in these areas. Unlike its usual haunts, the moist north facing coniferous slopes, the present sites are located on the south face of Pir Panjal along Poonch. The immediate step would be to gauge what numbers exist at these sites to effect conservation,”said Dr Rahul Kaul, South Asia Representative, IUCN SSC Galliformes Specialist Group and Chief Ecologist, WTI.
In addition to western tragopan, the team also sighted another threatened species in the region, the cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii). Ecologically diverse and representative of western Himalayan forests possessing key species such as the markhor, brown bear and musk deer, the team has recommended Kalamund-Tatakuti for notification as a protected area.
News Source - http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/headlines/10063834-endangered-western-tragopan-bird-spotted-in-kashmir.htm
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