Endangered Bali starling nearing point of no return

Endangered Bali starling nearing point of no return

The Bali starling is on the verge of extinction with only 13
left in the wild of Bali Barat National Park. With an invitation
from Conservation International, The Jakarta Post's Pandaya
visited the birds' habitat from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22 and observed
the efforts being made to save this endangered treasure. The
following article contains his report and photos.

BALI BARAT NATIONAL PARK, Bali (JP): The man's eyes light up
with anger when he recalls that fateful night in November 1999.

"It must never ever happen again," vows Wawan Suryawan, an
employee of Bali Barat National Park.

Wawan was talking about how a gang of about 25 people armed
with explosives, guns, crowbars and machetes broke into the Bali
starling breeding complex.

The criminals, believed to have conspired with local
residents, tied down the four on-duty rangers, snatched their
rifles, set off two explosives, and ran away with 39 starlings.

All the robbers escaped in a motorboat that was standing by on
the seashore near the Bali Barat National Park office, in Cekik,
some three kilometers away to the south. Eyewitnesses said the
bandits sped off across the narrow Bali Strait to Java.

And to add further insult, the criminals sneaked into the
forest at night a month later and placed the rangers' rifles in a
cardboard box near their post.

That was not the only robbery of the critically endangered
birds. On Aug. 31, 2000, another 13 starlings ready for release
into the wilderness were stolen from their aviary at another
location in the 20,000 hectare park.

The incidents clearly illustrate the urgency of effort
required to preserve the Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi).
Official statistics show that there are only an all-time low of
13 starlings left in the wild down from 18 in 1990, while the
minimum number considered "safe" from extinction is about 150.

In 1992, the population soared to 50 but poaching has cut it
down again.

While the provincial government is criticized in not doing
enough to safe the species, the situation has caused grave
concern from local and international environmental organizations.

The temptation to hunt the bird is irresistible for those
familiar with the illegal business of rare animals. On the black
market, a starling fetches up to Rp 10 million (almost US$1,000).

"The demand for the starling is high," says Tri Siswo Raharjo,
chief of the West Bali conservation office. "The rich like to
keep the bird as a pet as well as a status symbol."

The bird is beautiful. It has shiny white feathers and blue
spots on its face, wing tips and tail. The male starling is
magnificent with its peculiar crest, dancing and chirping on
branches to attract females.

In the wild, they stand out with their white feathers and
graceful, rather slow flying style. They fly short distances.
Rangers call them "stupid" for their tame behavior which
periodically enables lazy snakes to catch them in trees.

Their natural habitat is confined to the monsoon forests of
northwest Bali, declared Bali Barat National Park in 1982.

Poaching and robbery in the national park is believed to be
carried out by very well-organized crime syndicates, which
involve corrupt security officers and forestry officials.

This conspiracy was apparent from the November 1999 robbery
incident as Wawan recalled, "They grabbed the young birds which
were ready for reintroduction to the wild and they (robbers)
seemed to know very well which cages to break into. I believe
there was some degree of conspiracy with locals."

The five-year jail term and Rp 100 million in fine that
conservation law mandates for any perpetrator has proved
toothless. Some have been tried and jailed for stealing wood and
dynamite fishing in the park area.

Forest protection and nature conservation bodies have
attributed the major decline in the starling population to the
large-scale export of the animals to the U.S. and Europe in the
1960s.

The starling was included in the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in
1970. Indonesia ratified CITES in 1978.

Poorly equipped

The 65 rangers of the national park are considered "enough" in
numbers though are poorly equipped. Money is short and the
rangers have to cut their fuel budget in order to keep the boats,
motorcycles and vans running.

"We need about Rp 6 million a month for fuel alone but the
budget is hard to keep to," says Tri when meeting with Russel
Mittermeier, chief of the U.S.-based Conservation International.

Once you become accustomed to the terrain of the national
park, you realize how smart these poachers are. They use mist
nets to catch birds in tall trees in the jungle at night. Not
only that, Tri said, they are equipped with sophisticated
communication radios that allow them to avoid rangers.

Tri finds it difficult to conceal his dismay at Bali's
provincial government's perceived ignorance of the critical
situation. "The park contributed Rp 70 million last year to the
state but they gave minimal funds in return. We have to rely on
funds from central government for our budget."

This financial hurdle has prompted the park's management to
initiate cooperation with other stakeholders which include the
private sector in order to promote ecotourism as well as NGOs and
local residents.

Currently, an ecotourist resort project is underway. Existing
tourism operators in the area are required to contribute a
portion of their profit for conservation. Local residents leasing
their motorboats to surfers around Menjangan across the park are
required to contribute 60 kilograms of rice to each of the six
ranger posts in the area.

Last ditch efforts

Captive breeding, done in the park and in the U.S., is part of
last ditch efforts undertaken by the park's management to save
the critically endangered species with the help of NGOs like
BirdLife International.

Now, the breeding center near Cekik boasts 55 starlings. The
center is expected to breed 150 birds a year so that they can
soon be reintroduced to the jungle.

The birds are usually released when they are one year old and
after three months of "orientation" in an aviary at the western
tip of the park.

According to Wawan, the bird lays two to three eggs twice a
year in the wild but they can be much more productive in an
aviary -- they lay eggs up to eight times a year. Of the three
eggs, two usually hatch.

All the efforts to save the Bali starling have won sympathy
from Conservation International's Mittermeier, who has spent a
whole day touring the park and talking to conservation officials.

He concluded that what the park management needs is a small
investment which involves incremental funding as the
infrastructure has been inadequate.

Mittermeier promised to look into the possibility of helping
the park with electricity, fuel, drinking water and offering
conservation know-how.

"The government should give the rangers a little more
incentive to show appreciation of what they are doing," he said.

In Indonesia, Conservation International is currently working
in a number of important biodiverse sites in Aceh, Gunung Gede in
West Java, Togean Islands in Central Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.