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Journalism of Courage
The Walk-Through Aviary witnessed its first successful artificial hatching of two baby wood ducks (an exotic species) through an incubator in Nagar Van. The successful hatching took place five days back. The ducklings are very active and they were kept out of the public glare.
Meanwhile, the artificial hatching of a pheasant’s egg did not materialise. The egg was destroyed during the incubation period. At present, 34 eggs of wood ducks and 10 of pheasants are still in the incubator. Sources said,
“The reasons behind why the hatching of pheasant’s egg did not materialise are being studied along with methods through which success in the case of wood ducks’ eggs was achieved. We noted everything: when the eggs were put in the incubator, what temperature was applied, on which day and when the hatching took place.”
“The successful hatching of two baby ducks is a good sign. We have put the eggs in the incubator keeping in view the future strategy. Experimentation is one of the important aspects of artificial hatching. We are preparing ourselves for the artificial hatching of eggs of the rare exotic birds like macaws. In fact, we want to achieve hundred per cent success before applying artificial incubation on the eggs of rare exotic birds. Indeed, we did not put all the eggs laid by the pairs of wood ducks and pheasants. Many eggs are being hatched by the female birds naturally,”
Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forest, UT, said.
There is one incubator with the UT Wildlife and Forest department at Nagar Van. At least 48 eggs can be placed in the incubator at once. The pairs of wood ducks, golden pheasants, and yellow golden pheasants were successfully paired and had laid eggs in the aviary in the last week of April. Mid-March to mid-April is the ideal mating period for wood ducks, while April to June is the season for pheasants.
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