Lore Lindu National Park losing its 'soul'

Lore Lindu National Park losing its 'soul'

Bambang M, Contributor, Lore Lindu, Central Sulawesi

A major forest usually boasts typical sights such as waterfalls,
lakes, mountain scenery or a crystal-clear river flowing through
a valley. And the soul of this natural scenery are the wild
animals.

For Lore Lindu National Park, one of Indonesia's remaining
primary forests, the soul is the red-knobbed hornbill (rhyticeros
cassidix), locally called allo. In general terms, the big bird is
better-known as rangkong.

Unfortunately, like many other exotic birds elsewhere in
Indonesia, the hornbill's population in the 299.000 hectare park
is declining due to unchecked poaching, local environmentalists
have reported.

Native to Sulawesi, the red-knobbed hornbill has been
protected by law since 1999.

At present, the magnificent bird is easily sighted in many
parts of the national park. Known as a shy bird, which is as big
as a rooster, the hornbill lives in tall trees.

It stands out due to its big yellow beak with black and red
stripes on the tilt of the beak. Its body is dominated by black
feathers but the tail is white. The male has a yellow head and
neck feathers with a red horn on his head while the female's neck
and head are black with a yellow horn.

The red-knobbed hornbill perches on tall trees like fig or
trees that bear small fruits, which account for its main diet. Up
to 85 percent of its diet are figs, which are available all year
round.

Among places which are their favorite to flock to are Kalimpaa
lake and Lindu lake, where you can see over a dozen red-knobbed
hornbill flying across the lake, if you are lucky.

If you see a flock of red knobbed hornbill fly and scream in
the sky, it means that rain is imminent.

"This is a traditional belief of people around the park," said
Iben from Palu based Yayasan Jambata.

Actually, Sulawesi has two species of hornbill. The other one
is Sulawesi dwarf hornbill (oenelopides exarhatus). This hornbill
has a smaller beak and body size. The whole body is (both male
and female) covered by black feathers. The male has a yellow
head. This bird, which lives and feeds in the lower canopy, is
more rarely sighted.

Both hornbills have unique behavior when they are going to lay
eggs. They don't make a nest like other birds. First they will
look for a big hole (enough for the female's body) in the big
branch of the tree. After the female is inside, the male with
female's help seals the hole with mud, leaving just a small slit.
The breeding season for the red-knobbed hornbill is between July
and September while for Sulawesi's dwarf hornbill it is between
April and July.

They have to seal the hole to prevent predators like the
Sulawesi giant civet (Macrogalidia muschenbrcoeki) from coming
in. The small slit serves as ventilation and to pass food from
the male hornbill to his mate. The female remains enclosed while
she incubates her eggs and raises her offspring until they are
able to fly. During this time, the male has the duty to look for
food for them. Apart from fruit, these hornbills also like to eat
insects

When their offspring are ready to fly, then the hole is
opened. It's time for the offspring to learn how to fly under
their parents' close supervision.

The red-knobbed hornbill plays an important role in preserving
the forest. The fruit's seeds do not crush during the digestion
process and will emerge again with the bird's droppings. If the
hornbill's droppings fall on the land, the seed will grow into a
new tree.

To instill awareness about the hornbill's survival,
environmental activists based in the capital Palu have conducted
an information campaign directed at children living in the park's
vicinity through Allo-allo periodical, which has been popular.

Beside the periodical, the message was also conveyed to school
children around the park through puppet shows between 1999 and
2001, featuring the hornbill as the main character.

In this puppet show, the bird named Yojo always tells people
not to clear the forest. "It (logging) destroys my home and
makes big floods," he said.

Indeed, illegal land clearing and logging which continue in
many parts of the national park are threatening the priceless
flora and fauna.

According to the manager of Lore Lindu National Park, Banjar
Yulianto Laban, the park has lost about 10 percent of its
original 299,000 hectares (Kompas, Oct. 26, 2002).