Maleo bird on the brink of extinction
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post/Palu
The population of a Central Sulawesi icon, the striking black-and-white maleo bird (Macrocephalon maleo), is on the verge of extinction due to poaching, environmental workers say.
The head of the Lore Lindu National Park conservation office, Amir Hamzah, estimated that the current population of the maleo, which is part of the distinctive and rare Ordo megapodidae species, now numbered less than 1,000. "Whereas, based on our estimated data, the population of the bird in 1998 was about 10,000 in one single habitat," Amir said.
Villagers often hunted the big-footed birds and their eggs, which they could sell to rare animal collectors. The money was such that people were willing to wait for the birds to lay their eggs in sandy soil for hours on end, he said.
When the females returned to their nests in the evening, residents dug 7 to 10 meters into the soil to take the bird's single egg.
The maleo used to nest throughout the huge Lore Lindu National Park and was often sighted near settlements near forests and coasts, Amir said.
As well as being a national symbol of Central Sulawesi, the maleo was also used for then-minister of research and technology B.J. Habibie as the name for a car in the Soeharto-era national car program.
But now, people seldom saw the maleo. Because of this, the park authority was conducting a breeding program to try to protect the birds from total extinction, Amir said. It had successfully bred more than 200 birds in captivity and had already released 10 back into nature this month.
"The breeding site is located in Saluki village. We released 10 birds ... and their are more hatchlings to come at the village."
The park has involved local residents in the breeding plan who have been told of the dangers the maleo faces and are being paid to preserve the bird.
Amir said that the efforts had been quite fruitful. Now more aware of conservation strategies, the villagers would also act as a control on poachers in the area, he said.
Before the national park office had got involved, a villager from Parigi Moutong, the late Daeng Pabbeta, was a pioneer of efforts to preserve the bird and received the Kalpataru environmental award from former president Soeharto.
Amir hoped there were still residents in or around the park who would act like Daeng to voluntarily protect the birds from dying out.
Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele recently emphasized that his administration would compensate anyone who made an effort to keep the maleo from extinction.
"The maleo has always been a symbol of our pride. If the species goes, our pride will go with it. I will reward anyone who acts to protect the bird," Aminuddin said.
Often ground-dwelling, the maleo requires a humid climate and sandy surroundings and their habitats are usually near coastal areas thick with sand and undergrowth and protected from the wave.
They also like nesting near hot water sources where the soil is dense. A single female bird usually produces between eight and 12 eggs a year.