Maleo bird on the brink of extinction

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.