KATHMANDU — Nepal’s government has launched a new action plan for the conservation of the critically endangered Bengal florican, a bird whose population is declining amid mounting challenges across its range in the Indian subcontinent. The 10-year plan proposes for the first time conservation in captivity of the Bengal florican, also known as the Bengal bustard (Houbaropsis bengalensis), such as in zoos or nurseries, in a bid to build up and restore a viable population of the bird. The plan also calls for expanding its habitat and gaining a better understanding of its ecology to reduce threats. “We came up with the action plan following several rounds of discussion,” said Mohan Bikram Shrestha, a co-author of the action plan and senior researcher with the NGO Bird Conservation Nepal. He added the highlight of the action plan is its focus on raising awareness about the importance of conserving the species in those parts of its range that fall outside protected areas. A Bengal florican takes flight in India. Image by Jbaishya via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The duck-sized bustard, best known for the male’s signature mating display of flapping its wings and throwing itself into the air as though jumping on a trampoline, can be found in the Terai grasslands of southern Nepal and northern India from early spring until the monsoon sets in around June or July. After that, they’re difficult to trace. Another distinct population is found in Cambodia’s seasonally flooded Tonle Sap region. According to estimates by…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post Nepal launches new plan to boost critically endangered Bengal florican first appeared on EnviroLink Network.