ACCB planning release of eight captive-bred peafowl
THE Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) plans to release eight more peafowl birds into protected areas in Cambodia to increase their population in the wild.
ACCB said last week that it has successfully bred the endangered green peafowl (Pavo muticus imperator) in captivity since 2011. This breeding season, a total of eight eggs were laid and successfully incubated for 26-28 days by two peahens.
“Once fully independent, these eight captive-bred green peafowl will be released in secured and protected areas in Cambodia to strengthen the population in their natural habitat,” the post announced.
ACCB country director Christel Griffioen told The Post that the peafowl will be released into the wild when they turn one year old and can find food to survive on their own.
“Since 2021, we have successfully released a total of eight peafowl into secured protected areas of Cambodia,” she said.
She thanked the World Pheasant Association for their ongoing support of Cambodia’s green peafowl conservation work.
Christel added that peafowl and other endangered species released by the ACCB were not yet fitted with devices to track their status or activities and that the illegal poaching and trapping of wild animals persisted.
Christel said that in the near future, the ACCB plans to fit tracking devices to captive-bred animals to monitor the migration and living conditions of rare and endangered species cared for and bred by the ACCB before releasing them into the wild.
In a research report, BirdLife International Cambodia detailed that globally there are between 15,000 and 20,000 adult peafowl. Cambodia was estimated to have the highest number of green peafowl in the world, while China, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Indonesia have less than 1,000 each remaining.