Maleo bird on the brink of extinction<\/p>\n
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post\/Palu<\/p>\n
The population of a Central Sulawesi icon, the striking
\nblack-and-white maleo bird (Macrocephalon maleo), is on the verge
\nof extinction due to poaching, environmental workers say.<\/p>\n
The head of the Lore Lindu National Park conservation office,
\nAmir Hamzah, estimated that the current population of the maleo,
\nwhich is part of the distinctive and rare Ordo megapodidae
\nspecies, now numbered less than 1,000. "Whereas, based on our
\nestimated data, the population of the bird in 1998 was about
\n10,000 in one single habitat," Amir said.<\/p>\n
Villagers often hunted the big-footed birds and their eggs,
\nwhich they could sell to rare animal collectors. The money was
\nsuch that people were willing to wait for the birds to lay their
\neggs in sandy soil for hours on end, he said.<\/p>\n
When the females returned to their nests in the evening,
\nresidents dug 7 to 10 meters into the soil to take the bird's
\nsingle egg.<\/p>\n
The maleo used to nest throughout the huge Lore Lindu National
\nPark and was often sighted near settlements near forests and
\ncoasts, Amir said.<\/p>\n
As well as being a national symbol of Central Sulawesi, the
\nmaleo was also used for then-minister of research and technology
\nB.J. Habibie as the name for a car in the Soeharto-era national
\ncar program.<\/p>\n
But now, people seldom saw the maleo. Because of this, the
\npark authority was conducting a breeding program to try to
\nprotect the birds from total extinction, Amir said. It had
\nsuccessfully bred more than 200 birds in captivity and had
\nalready released 10 back into nature this month.<\/p>\n
"The breeding site is located in Saluki village. We released
\n10 birds ... and their are more hatchlings to come at the
\nvillage."<\/p>\n
The park has involved local residents in the breeding plan who
\nhave been told of the dangers the maleo faces and are being paid
\nto preserve the bird.<\/p>\n
Amir said that the efforts had been quite fruitful. Now more
\naware of conservation strategies, the villagers would also act as
\na control on poachers in the area, he said.<\/p>\n
Before the national park office had got involved, a villager
\nfrom Parigi Moutong, the late Daeng Pabbeta, was a pioneer of
\nefforts to preserve the bird and received the Kalpataru
\nenvironmental award from former president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Amir hoped there were still residents in or around the park
\nwho would act like Daeng to voluntarily protect the birds from
\ndying out.<\/p>\n
Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele recently
\nemphasized that his administration would compensate anyone who
\nmade an effort to keep the maleo from extinction.<\/p>\n
"The maleo has always been a symbol of our pride. If the
\nspecies goes, our pride will go with it. I will reward anyone who
\nacts to protect the bird," Aminuddin said.<\/p>\n
Often ground-dwelling, the maleo requires a humid climate and
\nsandy surroundings and their habitats are usually near coastal
\nareas thick with sand and undergrowth and protected from the
\nwave.<\/p>\n
They also like nesting near hot water sources where the soil
\nis dense. A single female bird usually produces between eight and
\n12 eggs a year.<\/p>",
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