Yunnan looks into endangered green peacocks

Yunnan provincial forestry authorities recently launched investigations into both the population and habitats of endangered green peacocks.

The research process will continue until mid-to-late May. The investigation team, in small groups, has been sent to 53 counties where there are or might be green peacocks. The team members will carry out interviews, line transacts and infrared camera surveys.

According to Yang Xiaojun, a researcher at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, green peacocks are classified as a national first-class protected wild animal in China and are included by the World Conservation Union on its red list of endangered species. The estimated population is between 20,000 and 30,000 individuals. Most of them are distributed in Southeast Asia and neighboring areas. 

Green peacocks mainly live in tropical and subtropical, evergreen broad-leaf forests and coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests. Habitats sit at altitudes of up to 2,000 metres above sea level. The birds’ favorite locales include forests, grasslands, riverbanks and open fields inside forests.

A 2016 survey conducted by the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, shows that green peacocks are only seen in 22 counties in eight of Yunnan’s prefectures. Scientists estimate that there are fewer than 500 of the animals roaming wild in China.

Chinese reporting by Zhao Peiran (Xinhua); Editor: Wang Shixue