A senior official at the Ministry of Environment said that Angkor Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (ACCB) has successfully hatched two Bengal Florican birds artificially from the eggs collected from the northern Tonle Sap floodplains.

Environment Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra lauded the ACCB experts on their successful endeavour and added that it is a great news for Cambodian people.

He added that the eggs hatched during the first week of May, and both were being hand-reared by experienced animal care takers.

“Recently two Bengal Florican eggs were collected from the Bengal Florican Conservation Area at the Northern Tonle Sap floodplain. The collected eggs have been transported to the Bengal Florican breeding facility at the ACCB where the eggs have been artificially incubated,” he said.

The artificial hatching of the critically endangered species at the ACCB in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) raises hopes of increasing the number of the IUCN Red-Listed Bengal Floricans in Cambodia.

The Kingdom is now home to 200 Bengal Florican birds out of the total 500 birds present in the world.

“This is the highest number of birds in the recent years. This is an outcome of the joint efforts of institutions concerned as well as communities and donors, who have provided technical support and necessary measures to protect the sanctuary of Bengal Florican around the Tonle Sap Lake,” Pheaktra added.

The Bengal Floricans are grassland species native to the Indian subcontinent but the species found in Cambodia is similar to that are found in Vietnam.

“In order to protect and conserve this rare species, the government has decided to establish a sanctuary around the Tonle Sap Lake designated as the Northern Lowland Conservation Area, covering an area of 31,159 hectares which extend through Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provinces,” he said.

Um Phearun, WCS Tonle Sap Landscape Programme Manager, said yesterday that currently the conservation of the endangered species is going on in seven major locations in the north, south and  the West of Tonle Sap River.

He added that of the six locations, five are in Kampong Thom province. They are Baray conservation area in Baray and Taing Kork districts, Chong Dung conservation area in Baray district, Stoung conservation area in Stoung district, Samakki conservation area in Prasat Balaing district, and Phan Nheunh conservation area in Prasat Balaing district. The one location in Siem Reap province is identified as Chi Kreng conservation area located in Chi Kreng district.

“The Artificial Habitat Breeding Programme is the world’s first such initiative and it requires cooperation and support of all stakeholders concerned, including the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,” he said.

He added that WCS has partnered with the ACCB to collect the eggs found outside the protected areas.

The ACCB said on its Facebook page said that this was the world’s first Bengal Florican egg laid under human care.

“Please help protect the critically endangered Bengal Florican,” it added.

• Tags: ACCB, Bengal Floricans