The specific query on impact of hunting: It is mainly done by some local villagers with traditional snares but the more serious is the snaring done by road workers/labourers. It may be mentioned here that a large number of roads are being constructed in the tragopan habitat for which thousands of workers are engaged. They camp near forest and put snares for galliforms almost regularly. Many a times birds caught are devoured by carnivores before being collected by poachers. Such poaching are silent and difficult to detect by anti-poaching staff. Moreover, unlike rhino-bearing protected areas, there is no intensive round-the-clock patrol in protected areas with tragopans. But the workers or labourers do no leave the area once roads are constructed rather a part of them remain for maintenance.
There may not be significant visible change in forest cover on maps but the ground reality is that lot of qualitative degradation is taking place.
Moreover, in protected areas such as Singalila National Park the number of domestic dogs has increased significantly posing threat to birds.
In Nepal’s case, our forest cover has overall increased especially within the elevation tragopan inhabits. There are now reports of the species from several areas that were considered to have lost this species; indicating a comeback of the populations. Forest dependency in Nepal for local people is decreasing combined with drastic reduction in the no of livestock in the mountain region. However, the threats of habitat changes remain as this country is now heavily investing on infrastructures eg roads and hydro including through the protected areas as per recent cabinet decision. We are yet to see how this moves ahead.
Hunting continues to be the biggest threat to this species as there is no mechanism in place to monitor such activity. Local community members as well as those from outside working in the area for infrastructure projects, private or government entities are involved in hunting. The scale of such hunting is undermined for tragopan and many other galliforms. There is no indication that hunting has substantially decreased in our region, and continues to be the primary threat to this species.
Dear Redlist Team,
The Satyr Tragopan, a beautiful pheasant with very low population density across the Nepal Himalayas, faces several threats in its native habitat. These threats contribute to their ‘Near Threatened’ status on the IUCN Red List.
• Hunting and Trapping: Despite legal protection, Satyr Tragopans are still hunted for their meat and feathers. Hunters use snares and occasionally gunshots to capture these birds. This relentless pressure is a major factor in the decline of Nepal’s Galliformes population (birds in the order Galliformes, which includes pheasants).
• Habitat Loss and Degradation: Satyr Tragopans prefer moist oak and rhododendron forests with dense undergrowth. Unfortunately, these areas are being cleared for timber, fuelwood, and fodder collection. Additionally, livestock grazing degrades the quality of their habitat.
• Bamboo Extraction: The dense bamboo undergrowth that Satyr Tragopans rely on is also being extracted for various purposes, further reducing the availability of suitable habitat.
My thought: With continued threats and no clear signs of population recovery, the ‘Near Threatened’ classification for the Satyr Tragopan remains appropriate.
Thank you!
Laxman Prasad Poudyal
Program Manager, Terai-arc Landscape Program
Nepal
Dear Red List Team,
Hunting and snaring are serious threats to Satyr Tragopan throughout most of its Nepal range.
In Kanchenjunga Conservation Area only two males were heard during a 12 day bird survey in 2008, despite widespread good habitat for the species. Similarly, in the Annapurna Conservation Area (with the exception of the Pipar and Santel areas), and in Langtang and Makalu Barun National Parks, the species is surprisingly low in numbers compared to the extensive high quality habitat available, indicating that hunting and snaring are probably prevalent.
Satyr Tragopan is also significantly threatened by loss and degradation of its forest habitats throughout almost all of its Nepal range, including in protected areas.
In the National Red List Assessment in 2016 Satyr Tragopan was assessed as nationally Vulnerable.https://www.dropbox.com/s/z954mo1b2vkiw1e/Tragopan%20satyra%20Linnaeus.pdf?e=1&dl=0
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 3 May 2024. We will now analyse and interpret all information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 3 May 2024, when discussions will re-open.
The specific query on impact of hunting: It is mainly done by some local villagers with traditional snares but the more serious is the snaring done by road workers/labourers. It may be mentioned here that a large number of roads are being constructed in the tragopan habitat for which thousands of workers are engaged. They camp near forest and put snares for galliforms almost regularly. Many a times birds caught are devoured by carnivores before being collected by poachers. Such poaching are silent and difficult to detect by anti-poaching staff. Moreover, unlike rhino-bearing protected areas, there is no intensive round-the-clock patrol in protected areas with tragopans. But the workers or labourers do no leave the area once roads are constructed rather a part of them remain for maintenance.
There may not be significant visible change in forest cover on maps but the ground reality is that lot of qualitative degradation is taking place.
Moreover, in protected areas such as Singalila National Park the number of domestic dogs has increased significantly posing threat to birds.
In Nepal’s case, our forest cover has overall increased especially within the elevation tragopan inhabits. There are now reports of the species from several areas that were considered to have lost this species; indicating a comeback of the populations. Forest dependency in Nepal for local people is decreasing combined with drastic reduction in the no of livestock in the mountain region. However, the threats of habitat changes remain as this country is now heavily investing on infrastructures eg roads and hydro including through the protected areas as per recent cabinet decision. We are yet to see how this moves ahead.
Hunting continues to be the biggest threat to this species as there is no mechanism in place to monitor such activity. Local community members as well as those from outside working in the area for infrastructure projects, private or government entities are involved in hunting. The scale of such hunting is undermined for tragopan and many other galliforms. There is no indication that hunting has substantially decreased in our region, and continues to be the primary threat to this species.
Dear Redlist Team,
The Satyr Tragopan, a beautiful pheasant with very low population density across the Nepal Himalayas, faces several threats in its native habitat. These threats contribute to their ‘Near Threatened’ status on the IUCN Red List.
• Hunting and Trapping: Despite legal protection, Satyr Tragopans are still hunted for their meat and feathers. Hunters use snares and occasionally gunshots to capture these birds. This relentless pressure is a major factor in the decline of Nepal’s Galliformes population (birds in the order Galliformes, which includes pheasants).
• Habitat Loss and Degradation: Satyr Tragopans prefer moist oak and rhododendron forests with dense undergrowth. Unfortunately, these areas are being cleared for timber, fuelwood, and fodder collection. Additionally, livestock grazing degrades the quality of their habitat.
• Bamboo Extraction: The dense bamboo undergrowth that Satyr Tragopans rely on is also being extracted for various purposes, further reducing the availability of suitable habitat.
My thought: With continued threats and no clear signs of population recovery, the ‘Near Threatened’ classification for the Satyr Tragopan remains appropriate.
Thank you!
Laxman Prasad Poudyal
Program Manager, Terai-arc Landscape Program
Nepal
Dear Red List Team,
Hunting and snaring are serious threats to Satyr Tragopan throughout most of its Nepal range.
In Kanchenjunga Conservation Area only two males were heard during a 12 day bird survey in 2008, despite widespread good habitat for the species. Similarly, in the Annapurna Conservation Area (with the exception of the Pipar and Santel areas), and in Langtang and Makalu Barun National Parks, the species is surprisingly low in numbers compared to the extensive high quality habitat available, indicating that hunting and snaring are probably prevalent.
Satyr Tragopan is also significantly threatened by loss and degradation of its forest habitats throughout almost all of its Nepal range, including in protected areas.
In the National Red List Assessment in 2016 Satyr Tragopan was assessed as nationally Vulnerable.https://www.dropbox.com/s/z954mo1b2vkiw1e/Tragopan%20satyra%20Linnaeus.pdf?e=1&dl=0
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 3 May 2024. We will now analyse and interpret all information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List status on this page on 3 May 2024, when discussions will re-open.