By: Yasser Arafat
It is a known fact that wildlife in most places are decreasing at an alarming rate. And may be many people may say, YES! And steps should be taken to protect them but how many are there who would take the first steps…..
Let me ask : Can any individual or organization tell how many cheer pheasant are left in the wild and what steps are there to protect them? Not only cheer pheasant but other wild animals and birds of Nainital District such as
serow and koklas pheasant? I wander the jungles of UP ( Utter Pradesh) looking for birds and animals….I have been doing this from the last many years. There are some disturbing facts which I would like to bring to the notice of all.
Pheasants such as cheer and koklas are decreasing at an alarming rate.
Three to four years ago I have seen 20 to 30 cheer pheasants. Now these places do not have a single cheer pheasant. Those places which are too far from human inhabitation have some population. But their numbers are decreasing
and steps should be taken to protect them before it is too late. If serious protection measures are not taken, then very soon cheer pheasant will disappear from the Nainital District of Uttaranchal.
Last year in the rocky area there were eleven cheer who roosted on three four small pine trees. I used to love watching them. But this year when I went to photograph them, to my horror, all four pine trees were cut for pine wood. The undergrowth was also gone
but then this grass was always cut by the surrounding villagers.
Our government should protect at least one or two such places where the cheer can live without human disturbance. I hope soon some steps will be taken to save this beautiful pheasant.
( Photograph of cheer pheasant in the wild by Yasser Arafat)