A review of the status of the Green Peafowl Pavo muticus and recommendations for future action

Abstract

The Green Peafowl has undergone a substantial decline throughout East Asia since the turn of the century and is now reported only from a few widely scattered localities in several countries. Its plight was highlighted in the IUCN Pheasant Action Plan where it was one of the highest priorities for conservation action. Recent surveys have clarified its status and distribution in at least part of several range countries and there is patchy information from elsewhere in its range. The current knowledge of the species was reviewed at a workshop in Malaysia in autumn 1997 at which representatives from most key countries were present. The species is extinct in Peninsular Malaysia, and almost lost from Bangladesh and north-east India. There is one large population remaining in Thailand and the species is thought to be in danger of extinction in Laos. China and Indonesia hold mostly small and scattered populations although the latter does contain two large protected populations. The status in Myanmar and Cambodia is unknown, although the presence of large tracts of apparently suitable habitat in eastern Cambodia suggest that this area may hold the largest populations of the species. Conservation recommendations fall into four categories: a strategic review, assessing status and understanding ecological requirements, investigating the human-Green Peafowl relationship and considering the possibility of reintroducing the species where appropriate.