Yunnan’s nature reserve releases HD pictures of critically endangered green peafowl

A green peafowl fans its feathers at the Konglonghe Nature Reserve in Shuangbai county, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo/Wang Jiancai)

The Konglonghe Nature Reserve in Shuangbai county, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China’s Yunnan Province recently released a set of high-definition images of green peafowl, one of the rarest and most endangered wild animals in the world.

Green peafowl, the only peafowl species native to China, is under first-class national protection in the country. There are 555 to 600 of these birds in China.

Chuxiong prefecture is one of the main protection zones for green peafowl. In April 2003, the prefecture approved the establishment of the Konglonghe Nature Reserve. Since 2014, the prefecture has implemented projects to protect the species by enhancing monitoring, providing water and food, and protecting the habitats of wild green peafowl.

Infrared cameras installed at the nature reserve showed that the nature reserve has seen a continuous rise in the population of green peafowl, which increased from 56 in 2015 to about 160 in 2021.