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  Myanmar’s peacock dying off in the wild

Myanmar’s peacock dying off in the wild

AFP
Published : Aug 25, 2016, 12:21 am IST
Updated : Aug 25, 2016, 12:21 am IST

Embraced by kings and freedom fighters alike, Myanmar’s peacocks have long been a national symbol of pride and resistance, but they are becoming ever harder to spot in the wild.

Embraced by kings and freedom fighters alike, Myanmar’s peacocks have long been a national symbol of pride and resistance, but they are becoming ever harder to spot in the wild.

Ornithologist Thet Zaw Naing is worried. Every year that goes by, Myanmar’s national bird becomes a less familiar sight.

Decades ago the birds, with their bright green plumage and famously ostentatious male tail feathers, were ubiquitous.

But like so many of Myanmar’s most iconic flora and fauna, rampant poaching and habitat loss under decades of unaccountable junta rule has hit their numbers hard.

For Myanmar, the declining peacock population is more than just a conservation tragedy — it’s a blow to the national psyche.

For decades it was the official symbol of Burma’s last kings, the Konbaung dynasty. Their monarchs wore peacock insignia on their robes and famously sat atop the Peacock Throne until their rule was toppled by British colonialists.

During his fight against the British in the early 20th century, independence hero Aung San — the father of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi — created a magazine named the Fighting Peacock.

Years later, Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy adopted the same bird as their party emblem in their long years of struggle against military rule.

Now elevated to the role of foreign minister and state counsellor since her party swept to victory in last year’s elections, Suu Kyi delivers press conferences besides visiting dignitaries in front of an embroidered peacock wall hanging.

But some worry the birds will soon only be visible inside history books and political rallies unless action is taken.

Having once ranged from India to Indonesia, the green peafowl, as its officially known, is in severe decline.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently lists the species as endangered on their red list.

Greater public awareness of the peacock’s plight, particularly in rural areas, will be critical in bringing Myanmar’s unofficial national animal back from the brink, says Thet Zaw Naing.