LAHORE: The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) Abu Dhabi and Houbara Foundation International Pakistan jointly released 150 captive bred houbara bustard in the Cholistan Desert.
In the past several years also, hundreds of birds have been released, amongst which the largest numbers were 600 houbara released in March 2015, 200 released in February 2016 and 500 birds released in March 2017.
These birds are from the bloodline of Pakistan’s resident species and were released to reinforce Pakistan’s current population of the species in the wild.
A recent report published by IFHC reveals a revolutionary success in their breeding programme by producing over 59,000 houbara bustard across their breeding centres; releasing thousands of captive-bred birds to help sustain existing wild populations; and expanding the number of countries, including Pakistan, where the houbara are being released.
Ever since the breeding programme began, over 206,000 Houbara have been bred. Of these, around 137,831 birds have been released into the wild. IFHC is now producing over 59,000 houbara every year.
Having been under highly specialized care, the birds being brought to Pakistan have been well-prepared to manage themselves in the wild. All the birds were individually tagged with identification rings, while selected birds were also tagged with satellite transmitters, for scientists to carry out monitoring of the birds after release and record their movements, habitat preferences and ability to breed.
