LAHORE: Jallo Wildlife Park is producing around 3,000 pheasants of different types every year, that is 75 per cent of total breeding of the birds in all wildlife breeding facilities in Punjab, says Punjab Forest, Wildlife, and Fisheries Department Director General Mudassar Riaz Malik.

The DG told Dawn on Wednesday, “The Jallo facility, one of the three major wildlife parks of Lahore has been conceived as a theme park with a combination of cultural, educational, and amusement facilities.” The park house various wildlife species in captive habitat with basic purpose of breeding, conservation, education and recreation, he says. This is a major facility for breeding of various species of wild birds, particularly rare species like pheasants, peafowls, Francolins (Chakor partridge) and Bob quails.

The park particularly focuses on breeding and hatching of pheasants, including silver pheasant, ring-necked pheasant, green pheasant and yellow golden pheasant.

The DG says that the breeding season of pheasants starts in mid of February and continues till end of November, depending upon variations in weather and climatic condition.

He says pheasants’ breeding process comprises different steps, including proper pairing, finishing period, start of breeding season and clutch development, setting of eggs in incubator, incubation and hatching, and brooding under artificial lights.

The pairing of pheasants requires proper male-to-female ratio before the breeding season, he says, adding that supplements comprising a calcium rich diet is also important in the finishing period. The DG says birds with best breeding potential will be shifted from various wildlife parks and zoos to the Jallo Wildlife Park in order to lessen the issues faced in inbreeding and proper pairing of breeding stock to maximise output per year.

He says a controlled hatchery will also be establish soon at the park to minimise issues of biosecurity and effects of climate change on breeding and health status of pheasants.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2025