BANGKOK — Thailand’s National Park Department officials have been ordered to eliminate a white ‘Indian peacock’ and a suspected hybrid peacock, which have been foraging among a flock of about 10 Thai peacocks within the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, near the Pong Chang Pueak wildlife observation tower (also known as the Peacock tower).
This order comes after attempts to capture them alive have been unsuccessful.
Attapon Charoenchansa, Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, revealed to Matichon Online that if these two peacocks continue to breed, they will compromise the genetic integrity of the Thai peacocks in Huai Kha Khaeng, which are already in a near-extinct status.
“The general public might see this as a minor issue concerning just one peacock, but it has significant implications for large-scale ecological changes. Experts have suggested that if we can’t capture them, we should euthanize or kill them outright. This is a practice followed in many countries. I don’t want to do it, but we must consider the potential negative consequences first,” Attapon stated.
However, officials within the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary estimated that the Indian peacock species that had been photographed had likely already been killed by predators.
Phermsak Kanittachart, a Forest Technical Officer and Head of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, reported from observations at the Peacock Tower near Pong Chang Pueak:
The green peacock suspected to be a hybrid has not been seen since June 23, and the white Indian peacock has not been observed since June 28.
Patrol officers conducted a survey of the surrounding area to search for both peacocks. They found feather fragments of the white Indian peacock along with blood traces, but no carcass was discovered. It is suspected that the peacock may have been attacked or eaten by an unknown predator. When officials had previously observed the white Indian peacock, it appeared to be less cautious than the Thai peacocks, potentially making it an easy prey for predators.
The Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary is in Uthai Thani and Tak provinces, Thailand. The park was established in 1974 and is part of the largest intact seasonal tropical forest complex in mainland Southeast Asia.
Coupled with the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, it was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1991. Together, the two sanctuaries occupy 622,200 hectares.
The green peafowl (Pavo muticus), also known as the Indonesian peafowl, is a species native to Southeast Asian and Indochinese tropical forests. This bird, which serves as Myanmar’s national symbol, was once widespread throughout Southeast Asia. However, today only a few isolated populations survive, primarily in Cambodia and neighboring areas of Vietnam.
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