Rare egrets find save heaven in Sleman<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
It is 5:30 p.m. in Ketingan, a hamlet in Sleman regency, some
\n10 kilometers north of here. The sun is setting and a quiet is
\nsettling over the small hamlet. The call to evening prayers rings
\nout from the village mosque.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the calm of the village is broken by the flapping
\nwings of thousands of egrets descending from the sky.<\/p>\n
They descend in large numbers, forming a circle before
\nperching in the trees. In less than an hour, the village is again
\nquiet.<\/p>\n
\"They (the egrets) have found a home in the hamlet,\" Sriyanto,
\nthe Ketingan neighborhood chief, said.<\/p>\n
The egrets usually leave the hamlet very early in the morning,
\ntraveling as far as 10 kilometers in their search for food, and
\ndo not return until dusk. Only during the hatching season do
\nsome of the egrets stay in the hamlet during the day, to protect
\nand feed the young egrets.<\/p>\n
Ketingan has become a rare location where egrets have a safe
\nplace they can call home.<\/p>\n
Sriyanto said the birds had for the last five years been
\nliving side by side with local residents, who voluntarily
\nprotected the rare birds from hunters.<\/p>\n
They let the birds live, nest and grow undisturbed. People
\nhave put up a number of signs around the hamlet warning people
\nnot to disturb or hunt the birds. And they will not hesitate to
\nstop and turn away trespassers.<\/p>\n
\"The residents have agreed to protect the birds and let the
\nanimals live safely and peacefully for as long as they like. We
\nall believe that the birds have brought us good luck,\" said
\nSriyanto.<\/p>\n
The villagers of Ketingan cannot remember exactly when the
\negrets first moved into their neighborhood. They became aware
\ntheir hamlet had become an egret colony after hundreds of the
\nbirds were already there.<\/p>\n
But Sriyanto claims he knows the exact day the egrets began
\narriving to build their nests.<\/p>\n
\"It all began in 1997. I saw dozens of egrets building their
\nnests in bamboo clusters in our backyards. I also noticed that
\nmore and more egrets were coming here after Sultan Hamengku
\nBuwono X (the governor and sultan of Yogyakarta) paid a visit to
\ninaugurate an asphalt road here,\" Sriyanto said.<\/p>\n
\"We believe Ngarso Dalem (the Sultan)'s visit had something to
\ndo with the growing population of egrets in our neighborhood. It's
\nlike the sultan came here to show the birds a safe place to live,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The fact that Ketingan is the only hamlet in the area to boast
\nan egret colony has caused some superstition among the Ketingan
\nvillagers. They think it is something of a mystery that no birds
\nlive in the neighboring Cebongan hamlet, which has the same
\nenvironment and the same tall trees.<\/p>\n
Biologist Bambang Agus Suripto of Gadjah Mada University said
\nthat security could be the main reason why the egrets chose
\nKetingan and nowhere else to call home.<\/p>\n
Living in large groups, egrets are highly sensitive to
\ndisturbances. That is why they live in tall trees, Bambang said.<\/p>\n
Bambang also said egrets were good fliers, being able to fly
\nover 10 kilometers without stopping. That explains why the birds,
\nwhich live on fish and other small animals, including lizards,
\nfrogs and worms, can live far away from places where food is
\nabundant, such as ponds.<\/p>\n
Bambang said there were a number of places in the province of
\nYogyakarta where egrets temporarily stayed or even lived for a
\nlonger period of time. Gembiraloka Zoo is one, although the egret
\npopulation is not as large as that in Ketingan.<\/p>\n
In fact, there is still no research on the population size or
\nthe exact species of the egrets currently living in Ketingan.
\nHowever, the head of the Yogyakarta Natural Resources
\nConservation Board, Kuspriyadi Sulistyo, estimates that the egret
\npopulation in Ketingan is about 8,000.<\/p>\n
According to Kuspriyadi, egrets in Ketingan belong to at least
\ntwo species. Locals call them Kuntul Cina (Chinese Egrets,
\nscientifically known as Egretta eulophotes) and Blekok Sawah
\n(Javan Pond-heron or Ardeola speriosa). They belong to the
\nArdeidae family.<\/p>\n
Government Regulation (PP) No. 9\/1999 on plants and animal
\npreservation placed these two species on the list of protected
\nbirds.<\/p>\n
The Yogyakarta Natural Resource Conservation Agency bestowed
\nan award last month to Ketingan residents for voluntarily
\nprotecting the birds.<\/p>",
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