Occurrence of Albinism In Peacock in Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India

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International Journal of Engineering, Management & Sciences (IJEMS) ISSN-2348 –3733, Volume-2, Issue-6, June 2015

Occurrence of Albinism In Peacock in Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India G.R. Parihar  Abstract— The study was assigned to evaluate albinism in avifauna of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. The study area was selected around Jodhpur district. Study was based on the wildlife methodology to find out occurrence of albinism in Peacock at the study site. The Indian Peacock (Pavo cristatus) was one of the species which was described by Linnaeus. The Indian Peacock is listed in Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature. In this Paper, we were reporting the occurrence of albinism in Indian peacock in this particular the Thar Desert region (Ootamber Village of Jodhpur). This area is located at west part of the Jodhpur district. The eco-behavior of this animal was noted similar to the normal Indian Peacock. This finding concerned to albinism in avifauna of particular peacock species of the Thar Desert region which having peculiarities of topography. Index Terms— Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, threats, Albinism.

I. INTRODUCTION The Indian Peafowl or common peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a brightly coloured bird which also known as Blue Peafowl belongs to family Phasianidae of order Galliformes of Aves class. The male peacock is bluish in colour and has long train made up of elongated upper-tail covert feathers which bear colorful eyespots but females lack train. It is found in scrub forest specially in moist and dry-deciduous forests, but can adapt to live in cultivated regions or agriculture fields (Ramesh, 2009) and around human habitations and is usually found where water is available. They can also see in open areas for dust bathing which help in the removal of parasites from feathers. Due to religious sentiment they are protected forage around villages and towns for scraps in the many regions of India. The Indian Peafowl or declared as national birds in the 1963. Like another birds, Indian Peafowl have a close relationship with humans as part of biodiversity, as pest, as wisdom, as objects of beauty and wonder, as food and indicator of environmental health. Due to increase in the human population, human beings change their mode of farming for fulfills of food requirements, they extent their Manuscript received June 09, 2015. G.R. Parihar, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, J.N.V. University, Jodhpur

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habitats and they also depend on many animal for food. For increase the productivity of crop farmers use many types of chemical fertilizers, they spread poisonous pesticides on crops for save crops from pests. All these are affect the life of birds, insects as well as wild animals in different manner so these are the major threats to animals. Except these, threats to birds and animals like anthropogenic pressure habitat distruction, electrocutions, accidents and natural predators (Rajpurohit and Chena Ram, 2011). II. MATERIAL AND METHODS Jodhpur is located in Rajasthan at the eastern edge of the Great Indian Desert. The town located at 240m altitude, latitude 26º 18’N, and longitude 73º 08’E, was erected on a hilly sandstone plateau of approximately 150 km2 surrounded by flat semi desert. The climate is dry with maximum temperatures ca 48ºC in May/June and minimum around 0ºC in December/January. This area receives 90% of its scanty rainfall (average 390 mm) during the monsoon in July-September. The natural open scrub vegetation is dominated by xerophytic plants including Prosopis juliflora, Acacia senegal, Prosopis cineraria, Caparis deciduas and Euphorbia caducifolia. There are numerous irrigated parks and fields. This wide range of climatic condition has led to the formation of different habitat types for Pavo cristatus around the Jodhpur. After surveys of the study sites, study was carried out at some selected regions of Jodhpur. During the study point count method, supported by photography is used. Beside this, information was also gathered from the local peoples living near study regions. III. OBSERVATION AND DISSCUSSION On 21th February 2012, I was coming from village Ootamber some 55 km, west to Jodhur. I was on the survey to faunal biodiversity in Jodhpur district. At about 4.30 p.m. after 2 km of driving by motorbike on the way to Jodhpur from Ootamber I saw a animal look like peacock feeding in the farm. I turned the bike towards the animals, it was an albino peacock. I took the motorbike about 10 meters, close to the

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Occurrence of Albinism In Peacock in Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India

animal but the Peacock did not run away and kept on continuously feeding. I took my camera out and took 4-5 photographs of the Albino peacock.

period. The high voltage electricity line passes from many areas of study site which is also a threat for Pea fowls. In the population growing world threats mentioned in the observation section in not only Peafowl but also for many of wild animals as well as birds. Alexander (1983) highlights the well known threats like feeding on pesticide treated seed, killing of peacock for commercial use which are known threats to wild birds also. In the many parts of India, the birds are damage the agriculture crops (Ali & Ripley 1980). They can also be a problem in gardens and homes where they damage plants. Feathers of Indian Peafowl shed naturally which are gathered by peoples for commercial purpose. In many people killed the peacock for feathers. Sahajpal and Goyal (2008) give the method to identify the naturally shed feather or plucked feathers. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are grateful to Prof. A.K. Purohit, Head, Department of Zoology, J.N.V. University, Jodhpur for providing facilities and logistic support during this study. Thanks are also due to villagers and my colleges for help in study. REFERENCES [1] Ali, S & S D Ripley (1980). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. 2 (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 123–126. [2] Alexander JP (1983). "Probable diazinon poisoning in peafowl: a clinical description". Vet Rec. 113 (20): 470. [3] Rajpurohit L.S. and Chena Ram (2011). Study the Life Span and Mortality in Free Ranging Hanuman Langur (Semnopithecus entellus entellus) Proceeding of -98th Ind. Sci. Congr. Held at Chennai in January,2011 (p.233). [4] Ramesh, K. & P. Mcgowan (2009). On the current status of Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus (Aves: Galliformes: Phasianidae):keeping the common species common. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(2): 106-108. [5] Sahajpal, V and Goyal, S.P. (2008). "Identification of shed or plucked origin of Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) tail feathers: Preliminary findings". Science and Justice 48 (2): 76–78.

Fig. 1: Albino peacock The major threats to Indian peafowl in theses study region which are killing of peacock for meat and its feathers (which have economic value), Electrocution, natural predators like feral dog, use of poisonous chemical as pesticide for prevent crop damage by many insects, use of chemical fertilizers by farmers in farms, habitat destruction and many anthropogenic reasons which are mentioned in the table 1. From last 20 years there is spurt increase in human population that brings extra demands for lands, food, and other resources that ultimately result in the degradation or destruction of habitats. Somewhere it is observed that people destroyed their habitat from their fields and also from human habitats. Somewhat climatic conditions like big strom and heavy rainfall are also responsible for the habitat destruction. Some cases of electrocution were observed during study

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