|
The Western Tragopan belongs to
one of five species in its genus that collectively span a
range across the Himalayan chain to Eastern China. As the
name suggests the Western Tragopan is most westerly in distribution,
occurring in Pakistan, North-west India and possibly the extreme
South-west of Tibet (Ali and Ripley 1987, Roberts 1991, de
Schauensee 1984).
Being
classified as a species that is ‘vulnerable to extinction’
(McGowan, P, Garson, P, 1995, Collar et al (1994). Reasons
for its decline are suspected to be forest degradation and
complete loss of forest habitat, as well as hunting and trapping.
The species has not been kept successfully in captivity in
the recent past with only one documented breeding of a single
male in Sarahan pheasantry, Himachal Pradesh, India.
The Western Tragopan is confined to relatively
undisturbed areas of the West Himalayan temperate forest in
northern Pakistan and North-West India. Forest loss and degradation
resulting from excessive, livestock grazing and the collection
of fodder and firewood, together with timber harvesting and
the subsequent conversion of land for agriculture, continues
to reduce and fragment its range.
Birds to Watch 2 and the World Pheasant Association/
BirdLife/IUCN Pheasant Specialist Group (IUCN 1995) both list
the species as “vulnerable” according to IUCN
criteria (i.e. facing extremely high risk of extinction in
the wild in the medium-term future). While the latter publication
estimates the total population of Western Tragopans to be
about 5000 individuals.
A more recent and detailed assessment of the
species status co-authored by the Chairman of the Pheasant
Specialist Group (Garson et al., in prep,) is expected to
revise this population estimate downward. Surveys of the Palas
Valley between 1989 and 1995 have estimated a population of
325 breeding pairs, and there are presumably additional non-breeding
individuals present. 
|
