Berhampur: As monsoon clouds loom over the lush-green Pakidi hills, a boom in the local peacock population is observed. The increase in peacock population is apparent as droves of them descend on villages and highways in this picturesque area in Ganjam district. The national bird has thrived. Its population has increased over the past few years, partly because of the lockdown and partly as villagers in the area have helped protect and feed peacocks. They believe peacocks `good luck’.
The population of the national bird in the area has grown manifold to around 2,000 over the last few years, Ghumusar south divisional forest officer (DFO) Satya Narayan Behura said Friday. The peacock population in the hill area has increased due to the involvement of local people in their protection, he added.
Aska forest range officer PK Sahu explained that villagers around Pakidi hill help protect the birds even though they often eat standing crops. The villagers feel sighting of peacocks brings good luck.
Villagers of Sobhachandrapur, Ambuabadi, Kerikerijhola, Bharatapalli, Cheramaria, Sameiguda and Karnoli are credited with helping peacock flocks by allowing them to co-exist with humans. Good forest cover and lack of forest fires are also some of the reasons for an increase in their population, officials added.
As air and noise pollution levels have come down because of lockdown, peacocks have started coming out on the roads too.
The villagers have also constituted a committee to protect them. The committee had received the prestigious Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation, the highest award in the state for protecting the wildlife, for its effort to conserve the national bird habitat in 2006.
“We have created awareness among the people about the importance of the protection of birds,” said Sameer Pradhan. He is the president of the peacock protection committee.
The villagers are protecting peacock from poachers. They are also feeding them and setting up water pots for the birds near the village in summer, Pradhan informed. “As their population increased manifold, some of the birds have now migrated to other areas like Bandhaguda and Baramundali,” Pradhan said.