Saving eagles through insemination<\/p>\n
Ridlo Aryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
How do Indonesian bird-lovers differ from their German
\ncounterparts? This question has often been asked of Edi Boedi
\nSantosa, a veterinary surgeon teaching at Gadjah Mada's school of
\nVeterinary Medicine, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The question has been posed by local songbird-lovers since his
\nreturn from doctoral studies in Germany in 2000.<\/p>\n
With a smile, Santosa, who earned his doctorate in the
\ntreatment of bird diseases from Loudwig Maximilian University,
\nMunich, Germany, gives his answer by way of a comparison.<\/p>\n
A German, he says, will be happy to take his sick bird to a
\nvet and spend 100,000 deutchmarks on the bird's medical
\ntreatment, although he bought it for only 25,000 marks. What he
\nis most concerned about is that his bird will get well again.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, he adds, someone may say that he has bought a
\nbird for Rp 17 million but this same person will be very
\nreluctant to part with Rp 50,000. Very often he gets annoyed at
\nthis fee and will ask the vet to give details of the medication.<\/p>\n
"In Germany, a bird is kept, out of genuine love, but in
\nIndonesia, a bird is caught and kept for the pride of its owner
\nonly. It is forced to make the loudest sound but given only the
\nminimum of care. Don't be surprised, therefore, to learn that the
\ngreatest number of bird species threatened with extinction in the
\nworld is in Indonesia," says Santosa, who was born in Salatiga,
\nCentral Java on July 4, 1963.<\/p>\n
Data at his disposal shows that 1,111 of a total of 9,052 bird
\nspecies in the world are threatened with extinction. Indonesia is
\nhome to 1,539 birds species, or 17 percent of those found
\nthroughout the world. Of this number, however, 104 are now close
\nto extinction.<\/p>\n
"The 2000 data that I have shows that Trulek Jawa birds
\n(Vallenus macropterus) have been officially declared extinct. If
\npoaching continues unchecked, more species will be gone," he
\nsays.<\/p>\n
Among those that he fears will disappear are endemic birds,
\nsuch as the Javan eagle (Spizaetus bartelsi), Bali starling
\n(Leucoptsar rothschildi) and Maleo (Macrophalon maleo).<\/p>\n
"Law enforcement to eradicate trading in protected birds must
\nbe implemented more firmly," he said, skeptically.<\/p>\n
Weak law enforcement in Indonesia is well-known. Under the law
\non conservation, illegal trading in legally protected species
\ncarries a penalty of Rp 100 million.<\/p>\n
"Although Akbar Tanjung can walk free, no traders in protected
\nanimals can continue their illegal practice," he said.<\/p>\n
Tanjung, the House of Representatives speaker who has been
\nfound guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in
\nprison, remains a free man, pending his appeal to the supreme
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
In 2001 Santosa managed to persuade Gadjah Mada University's
\nschool of veterinary medicine to have the subject of management
\nof animal (including bird) diseases in its master program.<\/p>\n
"Of the seven students now entering this program, five are
\ntaking this subject, which is the first to have been taught in
\nIndonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
Five state universities across Indonesia run a veterinary
\nmedicine school but bird disease science is taught only at Gadjah
\nMada University.<\/p>\n
Edi is the first person in Indonesia to have majored in the
\nscience of bird health and he is now the only authority in this
\nfield.<\/p>\n
"I feel called upon to pass this knowledge on to many
\nstudents. If many birds have died at the hands of Indonesian vets
\nbecause they hadn't learned this subject, the credibility of our
\nvets will be undermined," said Santosa, who now earns about Rp
\n1.5 million per month as a lecturer.<\/p>\n
Santosa is enthusiastic in his efforts to help songbird lovers
\nappreciate the need to keep their pets healthy.<\/p>\n
In early 2002 he teamed up with Gunawan, a breeder of canaries
\n(Serinus canarius) to run a special clinic for birds. Gunawan
\nprovided a place at Jl. Gandekan 53, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
"This is a project of an idealist. Let other vets collect
\nhundreds of thousands of rupiah for each patient. I have opted
\nfor the cross-subsidy concept. I charge only Rp 15,000 per bird
\nin the case of songbird breeders. But I will charge Rp 90,000 to
\nRp 100,000 per bird to songbird lovers who can afford to buy
\nbirds worth millions of rupiah.<\/p>\n
"I use this money to subsidize the breeders. Many of my
\ncolleagues have often told me, jokingly, that I will never get
\nrich that way. I don't care, though. As a professional I work
\nprofessionally," said Santosa, who rides a low-cost, Chinese-made
\nmotorcycle, the installments on which have just been completed.<\/p>\n
In an effort to save protected birds, Santosa has proposed to
\nthe relevant parties that elementary schoolchildren be given a
\nspecial lesson to develop a love of birds. Besides, he is also
\nexploring the possibility of introducing a more modern way of
\nbreeding endangered birds in captivity.<\/p>\n
With the funding from the national education ministry, he has,
\nsince 2001, been studying the possibility of breeding in
\ncaptivity endangered Javan eagles through artificial
\ninsemination.<\/p>\n
In 2000, only an estimated 200 pairs remained in the wild.<\/p>\n
Santosa has been studying the Javan eagles kept at Gembira
\nLoka zoo, Yogyakarta. He is optimistic that insemination can save
\nthe species.<\/p>\n
"If the initiative is successful, the population of this
\nspecies will rise. Insemination has proved successful for the
\nbreeding of golden eagles (used as the state symbol of the United
\nStates). Why can't it work as well for our own Javan eagles,
\ntoo?" he says, with great optimism.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/saving-eagles-through-insemination-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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