jungle fowl

[varidgerunner]

Doubtful that you can find any pure junglefowl. Most of them have the dumbed down chicken genes in them, according to most research. Luckily, the chickens they were dumbed down with are of the unrefined game type, which have traditionally been selected by other chickens as well as their own survival abilities, instead of by arbitrary human interventions selecting for traits that are of no benefit to a chicken. In many places, these birds have established feral colonies that are quite successful, even outside of the habitat that they spent the most time evolving in. Historically, it was not uncommon for pure red junglefowl to be infused into gamefowl up until fairly recently, genetically speaking.

 

[Ntsees]

Based on the work conducted in Pakistan (full article pdf from http://www.sciencedomain.org/abstract/7174), there does seem to be a pure population. The hen in the photo (hunted) is genuine. Sadly it's true that there is a problem with genetic contamination/introgression with chickens. Thankfully there are still populations of pure birds - in the wild and in captivity (via world wide web). Mazhar Awan may need to take extreme measures to make sure that the birds being kept for reintroduction are actually pure birds.

 

[centrarchid]

They should ideally represent what is suited to the area as well. Red Jungle from other areas, even when pure, can be a less than optimal mix for a given locality. I find it difficult to see how one person starting from a pair of even pure birds of the correct genetic background will have resources needed for even a chance at a successful re-introduction. Multiples pairs will need to be introduced in a fairly large and contiguous area that birds will ideally settle into to find a mate. Operational sex ratio may cause some males to be floaters which needed if some males lost.

So far, behavior here is being treated only a function of genetics. In smart birds like Red Jungle Fowl, rearing environment is also important. Pen reared birds are going to be at a real disadvantage when released to deal with predators. I can easily see culture in my domestic game chickens. The culture can help or hinder success when moved to a another location / setting. That is why I stressed taming with the wild rooster which is reverse of what is needed for offspring used in stocking efforts.

 

[Ntsees]

Yeah, I agree with your points. There are so many factors involved and many choices one can take to bring back populations, but Mazhar Awan seems to have chosen the propagation-and-release route. Re-introductions aren't always successful and sometimes they are. I was also going to suggest that if there's an existing small population, a ban of hunting coupled with increase in habitat may do the work. And it may be a better method because that way, the birds are not at a disadvantage against predators unlike reared birds. Choices, choices, choices.....



(when writing the above, I can't help but think about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's multiple attempts to re-introduce the masked bobwhite back into their native range. Darn it....if they could allow me to try, I'll succeed!)