Endangered Hawk-eagle sold illegally

Bambang M, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Environmental damage and continued bird hunting have brought many bird species, some of which have never been studied or cataloged, to the brink of extinction. One of these species, now very rarely found in its natural habitat in Indonesia, is the Changeable Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus cirrhatus).

In Indonesia, the Changeable Hawk-eagle is known as Elang brontok. The Javanese word brontok means a blister on your skin. It is not clear, according to Triman Setyardi of the Indonesian Kutilang Foundation for Bird Conservation, why the bird was given this name as there are no blisters on it.

Another constraint is that this species is becoming endangered both in Indonesia and in the Philippines, where it used to be abundant. On the southern slopes of Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta, bird watchers rarely see them.

However, the census of flora and fauna made by the Natural Resources Conservation Center of Yogyakarta in 2001 failed to spot even a single Changeable Hawk-eagle. There may be just a few left on the slopes of Mount Slamet, Central Java. A biodiversity report about this area made by Yayasan Kutilang, Kapalla Indonesia and Birdlife in 2000 did not even include this species.

It is somewhat uplifting news, therefore, to learn that this species was recently seen in Pacitan, East Java, although it soon went missing.

"Last year we found a nest on a road-side tree in Pacitan. We asked the locals to keep watch over it but the young eagle got lost," said Heri of Kanopi, a Yogyakarta-based environmental NGO which plans to conduct more research on the hawk-eagle this year.

The size of the population of this eagle throughout Indonesia is yet to be ascertained. However, the shrinking population of this predator is particularly attributable to the damage of its habitat and poaching.

In April 1999, the Kutilang Foundation came across two of them, a species protected by Law No. 5/1990 and registered in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), at a market in Kaliurang near Yogyakarta. The rare bird is also reportedly available at Ngasem bird market in Yogyakarta.

The Changeable Hawk-eagle, just like other wild animals, is in fact hard to keep as a pet. First of all one has to pay quite a handsome sum of money for its large cage and feed. That's why this species is usually found in upper class homes.

A young one can cost as much as a several hundred thousand rupiah, but can easily die of a stress if it is kept in a house.

Sudartomo of Yogyakarta is one of those who illegally owns a Changeable Hawk-eagle. Three years ago he bought two young ones at Ngasem for Rp 300,000 each. "One of them soon died of an illness," he said.

The other eagle is now in a cage measuring 5 meters high, 2 meters long and 2 meters wide. Each day, a large chunk of chicken is fed to the winged carnivore.

"Although I have had it for many years, its natural instinct is still evident, as it always shows alertness. Before eating, it always checks the perimeter for rival predators, then whisks the meat away to the relative security of the top of the cage," he said.

He added that the eagle liked natural showers. "Every time it rains, it always enjoys washing under the rain and will spread its wings to get all parts clean," he added.

The Changeable Hawk-eagle habitat stretches from India to Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, they are found in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Nusa Tenggara. Normally, its habitat is located in mountain forests at a height of around 2,000 meters above sea level.

In its natural habitat, the eagle, said Anita Gamauf, an ornithologist who studied the eagle in the Philippines, can perch itself on a tree for a whole day. However, it usually does this between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

As the day wears on and the temperature of the air rises, the eagle begins to soar, making a rotation movement in the air (with the help of the hot air that comes up) to look for its prey. It flight reaches its peak between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

J. MacKinnon and Phillips K. in their book Field Guide for Birds In Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Bali writes that the hawk eagles are fond of visiting open forest areas. Meanwhile, Anita Gamauf found that this eagle likes hunting in a forest that has begun to be cleared, in a fragmented forest and in an unirrigated agricultural field. Its favorite prey are chickens.

Even though it is being studied more and more, the Changeable Hawk-eagle is now nearing extinction.