Sulawesi's mascot under threat of extinction

Sulawesi's mascot under threat of extinction

Badri Djawara, Contributor, Palu, Central Sulawesi

Environmentalists in Sulawesi are sounding the alarm for the
dwindling population of Maleo, the big bird endemic to the
island. They have noted that the Maleo has disappeared in 44
places where they used to be abundant.

Unlike most birds, Maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) has the size of
a chicken with a white breast and brownish-black feathers and
cannot fly a long distance. This bird usually flies from one tree
to another, and just like a chicken, it seeks seeds and legumes
on the ground.

Maleo birds used to live in nearly regions of Sulawesi.
However, the places where the Maleo used to be found are now in a
state of neglect.

In Tatongko Dua Saudara, North Sulawesi, for instance, the
population of Maleo was reported to have dropped by 80 percent
due to uncontrolled egg collection, an activity which has been
going on for decades.

A research conducted recently by the Jambata Foundation, a
non-governmental organization focusing on Maleo protection,
showed that out of 46 locations where Maleo could be found in the
western part of Central Sulawesi and the northern part of South
Sulawesi, Maleo's existence in 11 sites were considered
"threatened" and "very threatened" in 16 sites. In the remaining
sites, the birds were still considered safe, simply because they
were located in the Lore Lindu National Park.

Palu-based Jambata members also reported that another 44 Maleo
habitats have disappeared in the last two decades.

Jambata's director Buttu Ma'dika attributed the disappearance
of Maleo from 44 areas where they used to be abundant to
excessive collection of Maleo eggs and damage done to the forest
area where the unique birds used to live.

"This research shows that the disappearance of Maleo is
attributed more to human acts than natural disasters," Buttu
said.

Another unique thing about Maleo birds are the way it lays
eggs. Although it lives in forests and mountains about 1,200 m
above sea level, it will find a lowland area to lay its eggs.
Usually, there are two places where they lay eggs: a sandy beach
or a sandy river bank. These places must get enough sunshine to
warm the eggs.

Although a Maleo is as big as a chicken, its egg is the size
of an adult's fist. A Maleo egg is the same as five to six
chicken eggs, or weigh about 250 grams. The eggs are kept in warm
sand about 60 cm - 70 cm underground. When the mother bird lays
her eggs, the male bird will keep watch from a tree and
immediately signal its "spouse" in case of danger.

The legs of a pair of Maleo birds are strong enough to allow
them to move a cubic meter of sand when making a hole to lay the
eggs. In the process, both of the "parents" take turns digging
the eggs, including other holes as decoys to keep their eggs from
being discovered by predators. That's why those digging for Maleo
eggs often find only empty holes.

A pair of Maleo birds can only have, on average, about seven
to eight eggs a year, although research data showed at least one
pair was able to produce 12. The egg-laying periods are usually
in April, October and November. The eggs are usually laid about a
week apart. After being warmed by the hot sand, the eggs will
hatch between 35 and 75 days after being laid. After the egg is
hatched, the infant Maleo chicks will have to make its way up
through the sand, to find food and deal with potential dangers on
its own.

To this point there is still no conclusive understanding in
the scientific community revealing precisely how the infant Maleo
gets out of the sand.

Djaling, a Maleo warden at Bakiriang Protected Forest in
Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi, theorizes that a Maleo always
places its eggs in an upright position and when the egg hatches,
the small Maleo will "cut" around the middle of the egg and use
the nearly conical shaped top end of the egg as piercing
shield/umbrella to plow its way up through the sand. If the
shield/umbrella is broken on the way, the baby Maleo will never
reach the surface.

At the Lore Lindu National Park, Maleo prefer laying eggs in
sandy riverbanks. The locations are safer there than in other
places, but there are still a number of poachers who enter the
park.

Despite the problems which threaten the bird's existence,
efforts to breed it in captivity are still progressing quite
slowly, but breeding sites have been set up in Bakiriang, Pantai
Toili, Banggai regency; Sausu Piore, Donggala regency; and
Tanjung Matop, Buol Regency in Central Sulawesi.

And in these areas, sadly, the threat does not come from
illegal hunters but from government officials who visit captive
breeding sites and take the eggs. Djaling said that most of them
wanted the eggs as "souvenirs" for their bosses.

Buttu acknowledged that some residents were even in collusion
with forestry officers to sell Maleo eggs on the market.

These eggs, he said, are offered at Buol market or Toili
market at Rp 2,500 to Rp 5,000 each.

"This so-called captive breeding has been implemented only to
meet the project requirement set by the government," Buttu added.