Noor Hussain.
MacQueen's bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) / houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)
The species was once nearly hunted to near-extinction in the Middle East by Arab falconers, hunters and poachers. It was considered great sport in colonial India, especially to hunt tiloor (the local name) from camel back. The bird would be approached in narrowing circles and on close approach the bustard would squat on the ground and conceal itself. The introduction of jeeps and guns however led to a drastic decline in the population of the species. Hunts in some parts of Pakistan have been organized for wealthy Arabs who purchase permits to hunt a limited number of birds but routinely exceed quotas. The meat of this bustard is believed in the Arab world to be an aphrodisiac (It is considered as a diuretic according to another source). Rapid population declines of about 50% were seen in their breeding grounds in Kazakhstan between 1998 and 2002 and thought to be due to hunting, especially in their winter grounds. Annual declines over a ten-year period across Asia were estimated at around 27–30% in 2004.
Conservation efforts were made across the region after the 1970s with international conservation organizations working along with local governments. Some captive breeding facilities were created including one in Saudi Arabia in 1986 and have been successful in captive breeding since the late 1990s, initially by incubating eggs collected from the wild and later entirely in captivity using artificial insemination. They are the only bustard species that have been successfully bred in captivity, but captive-bred birds are considerably more inbred and may be susceptible to diseases.
Being migratory species, it is important that captive-bred bustards undertake similar migrations to wild birds. Comparing the migrations of captive and wild birds using satellite telemetry, it was found that captive-bred individuals started autumn migration later and wintered closer to the breeding grounds than wild individuals. The surviving captive-bred bustards were also faithful in their wintering locations in subsequent years. As migration has a genetic component, it is important to consider migratory population structure, as well as natal and release-site fidelity, during captive breeding management of this species.
The species is very sensitive to disturbance by humans and livestock when nesting. A study in Uzbekistan found that sheep grazing did not disturb the MacQueen's usage of non-breeding habitats.The main threat to the species is degradation of their semi-desert habitat by the introduction of agriculture and by infrastructure development such as roads and electricity, which increase their mortality. They also are at considerable risk during migration from heavy poaching as well as a lack of suitable habitats along their migration routes due to development.
MacQueen's bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) / houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulata)
The species was once nearly hunted to near-extinction in the Middle East by Arab falconers, hunters and poachers. It was considered great sport in colonial India, especially to hunt tiloor (the local name) from camel back. The bird would be approached in narrowing circles and on close approach the bustard would squat on the ground and conceal itself. The introduction of jeeps and guns however led to a drastic decline in the population of the species. Hunts in some parts of Pakistan have been organized for wealthy Arabs who purchase permits to hunt a limited number of birds but routinely exceed quotas. The meat of this bustard is believed in the Arab world to be an aphrodisiac (It is considered as a diuretic according to another source). Rapid population declines of about 50% were seen in their breeding grounds in Kazakhstan between 1998 and 2002 and thought to be due to hunting, especially in their winter grounds. Annual declines over a ten-year period across Asia were estimated at around 27–30% in 2004.
Conservation efforts were made across the region after the 1970s with international conservation organizations working along with local governments. Some captive breeding facilities were created including one in Saudi Arabia in 1986 and have been successful in captive breeding since the late 1990s, initially by incubating eggs collected from the wild and later entirely in captivity using artificial insemination. They are the only bustard species that have been successfully bred in captivity, but captive-bred birds are considerably more inbred and may be susceptible to diseases.
Being migratory species, it is important that captive-bred bustards undertake similar migrations to wild birds. Comparing the migrations of captive and wild birds using satellite telemetry, it was found that captive-bred individuals started autumn migration later and wintered closer to the breeding grounds than wild individuals. The surviving captive-bred bustards were also faithful in their wintering locations in subsequent years. As migration has a genetic component, it is important to consider migratory population structure, as well as natal and release-site fidelity, during captive breeding management of this species.
The species is very sensitive to disturbance by humans and livestock when nesting. A study in Uzbekistan found that sheep grazing did not disturb the MacQueen's usage of non-breeding habitats.The main threat to the species is degradation of their semi-desert habitat by the introduction of agriculture and by infrastructure development such as roads and electricity, which increase their mortality. They also are at considerable risk during migration from heavy poaching as well as a lack of suitable habitats along their migration routes due to development.