Hornbills in South face rampant poaching and extinction

[Lite Beer]

Hornbills in South face rampant poaching and extinction

BANGKOK: -- Hornbill is a protected bird species but they are being hunted rampantly in South Thailand where authorities are now concerned it could face extinction if no effective measure is out to protect them.

It is protected bird species defined by CITES as being endangered whereas its sale and trading are prohibited worldwide.

But hornbills still are facing hunting in the south particularly at the Budo mountain range.

Many were caught for sales as they fetched good prices.

But forestry were able to retrieve from poachers, though not many, and put them back to nature.

At a recent case of seizure, conservation personnel at the Pa Khok Mai Rua Wild Life Breeding Center in Narathiwat province managed to retrieve two one year old Hornbill birds that were caught by local villagers and were putting them on sale.

Officials suspect that the birds were captured from the forests of the Budo mountain range like the other 19 birds that were confiscated in previous raids and arrests.

According to the Mahidol University’s Science Faculty Ecosystem Research on Hornbill Habitats, there are a total of 13 types of hornbills found in Thailand.

Ten of these species are found in the southern region; six of which are mainly located in the Budo mountain range which include the Great Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill and White Crowned Hornbill.

The hornbills in this area are facing the danger of extinction due to rampant poaching and forest encroachment leaving less and less natural habitat for these magnificent creatures.

Wildlife breeding center chief Sorayuth Chaikiew said hornbills are large birds that need a very large area for its living habitat and as such should not be kept as pets.

Putting them in cages changes their behavior as they are not able to do live they way they do in the wild, he said.

His view was also shared by Mr Preeda Tiensongrasama, chief of the Ecology Study of Hornbills in the South.

“There is no point stepping-up breeding and conservation if we are not able to preserve its natural habitat. There must have cooperation from every party. We have to educate local residents so they understand that they shouldn’t pick these birds up in the first place. These rare birds are the nation’s treasure and should not be in the hands of collectors. If we don’t band together to help them now who will.”

Research on illegal wild life trading involving hornbills has revealed that the sale of these birds is openly advertised on the internet.

A White Crowned Hornbill was advertised for sale by its owner who lives in Pattani on 20 August 2014 over the internet.

This information coincides with details received by a former hornbill poacher who told conservation personnel that hornbills are still being traded illegally with local and overseas buyers. The price of each bird starts in the thousand mark locally however once the bird is taken out of the southern region to Bangkok, the prices rise very significantly, he said.

A former Hornbill poacher but now turned a member of the Khao Budo Hornbill Conservation Group in Narathiwat province said the bird is sold at three to four thousand baht.

He said he used to catch four to five birds per year.

But now he has stopped poaching saying that he has realized of conservation and that he would leave them where they are so that future generations will be able to see them in the wild.

There are a number of organizations helping with the conservation efforts of these majestic birds.

These hornbills are an umbrella species that determines where an ecosystem is healthy.
Unfortunately these birds are treasured by some faction of society who believed that owning these birds will add to their prestige.

The exorbitant prices these people are willing to pay for such birds are also the main draw for poachers.

This combined with its shrinking habitat is making it more and more difficult to help conserve these special birds.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/hornbills-south-face-rampant-poaching-extinction/

-- Thai PBS 2014-10-11

[garyk]

That really sucks. I like to photograph birds and what I see in some of the places I go is unreal...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos

[iReason]

When I lived in the jungle on one of the islands, there were three guys that came by almost everyday with rifles.

One day my girlfriend asked them what they did up the mountain.

Smiling, they replied; Shooting animals, birds, etc...

Recreational killing...

[Costas2008]

That really sucks. I like to photograph birds and what I see in some of the places I go is unreal...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos

Beautiful photos.

Well done, Sir

Made me start thinking of getting a proper camera and start getting photos.

Must be so rewarding.

[Goshawk]

That really sucks. I like to photograph birds and what I see in some of the places I go is unreal...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos

Like Costas . . may i congratulate you on your excellent work garyk !

You've got some really nice equipment there, and you're producing stellar results.

Why not head over to the Photography section . . specifically the 'For The Birds !' thread. Your images will be most welcome there !

[Barney R]

Rare birds !!! On a recent trip to my girlfriends village near Seka in Bueng Kan province the lack of a bird life was amazing literally there was none , in the week I was there I viewed approximately 20 birds total in and around her village and farm . I commented on this to my g/f she just laughed and said aloi mak mak and went on to say they go looking for nests also for eggs but very hard to find now . I would say all wildlife if eatable is in danger of extinction especially in that area.

[h90]

Rare birds !!! On a recent trip to my girlfriends village near Seka in Bueng Kan province the lack of a bird life was amazing literally there was none , in the week I was there I viewed approximately 20 birds total in and around her village and farm . I commented on this to my g/f she just laughed and said aloi mak mak and went on to say they go looking for nests also for eggs but very hard to find now . I would say all wildlife if eatable is in danger of extinction especially in that area.

get a different g/f who is a bit more aware of things. It is shocking when animals get extinct because they are aroi.....and that is even considered funny....

[Mudcrab]

Rare birds !!! On a recent trip to my girlfriends village near Seka in Bueng Kan province the lack of a bird life was amazing literally there was none , in the week I was there I viewed approximately 20 birds total in and around her village and farm . I commented on this to my g/f she just laughed and said aloi mak mak and went on to say they go looking for nests also for eggs but very hard to find now . I would say all wildlife if eatable is in danger of extinction especially in that area.

get a different g/f who is a bit more aware of things. It is shocking when animals get extinct because they are aroi.....and that is even considered funny....

How will getting a different girlfriend make any difference to the local ecology and avian population?

[wilcopops]

This kind of story happens on a monthly or even weekly basis yet Thavisa still doesn't see fit to have an ecology, environment and conservation forum.

[wilcopops]

Rare birds !!! On a recent trip to my girlfriends village near Seka in Bueng Kan province the lack of a bird life was amazing literally there was none , in the week I was there I viewed approximately 20 birds total in and around her village and farm . I commented on this to my g/f she just laughed and said aloi mak mak and went on to say they go looking for nests also for eggs but very hard to find now . I would say all wildlife if eatable is in danger of extinction especially in that area.

Edible? - This may be a reason but the main reason is SELLABLE - there is big money in a lot of this -either dead or alive.

Alive as exhibits or pets (i use the term loosely!) or as EXOTIC food or worst of all, TCM

TCM is one of the biggest threats to both flora and fauna.

[soalbundy]

The lack of appreciation for wild life amongst the locals astounds me, i'm surprised that there are any birds of any description left here,it disgusts me.

[Robby nz]

That really sucks. I like to photograph birds and what I see in some of the places I go is unreal...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos

Beautiful photos.

Well done, Sir

Made me start thinking of getting a proper camera and start getting photos.

Must be so rewarding.

Go look on the photography pages Costas and get some more inspiration, then get that camera and come and join us.

[Gunna]

That really sucks. I like to photograph birds and what I see in some of the places I go is unreal...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos

A twitcher's paradise -- fabulous photos

I didn't see a Norwegian Blue - beautiful plumage

( for those that don't know of the Norwegian Blue here is the link

)

On a serious note when I was trekking the hill tribe areas on Northern and Eastern Thailand 20 years ago ( Near Nan I was lucky to see some of the last of the Malbri - forest people) I was surprised by the lack of birds other than chickens eg I had more birds visit my condo courtyard in central Sydney. My guide told me the locals shot them all and took their eggs

[kuiburi]

On our 4.5 rai plot every animal is " anulak " except for giant centipedes , scorpions , and deadly snakes when they enter our houses ,

Thais laugh at me they want to eat kill these animals , I always tell them that nature gives a finger and u will eat a hand .

Kill animals because u not have food , ok , but kill for pleasure no way .

[jobsworth]

The Mlabri are the remains of a stone-age culture living in the jungle in small family groups, hunting wild animals for food. There are now less than 500 of these tribal people living in the jungle in this small area of Thailand and Laos.

http://life.adrianwhelan.com/nan/

[Canada]

Where my wife's parents live in Isaan, there is virtually next to no wildlife. Locals hunts frogs, small birds, rats, lizards and snakes for survival. There's nothing left.

[retsdon]

I had a Thai friend who died in about 2004 aged 58. When he was a boy growing up on Koh Lanta in the 1960s, they used to have to put the pigs into barricaded stockades at night, because tigers would come down out of the jungle and walk down the road in Salaadan village looking for a meal. He would see their pug marks in the dust on the walk to school. One time, when I came back to Krabi and told him I'd been staying on Long Beach, he told me a story about the time his father, his uncle and himself had taken the boat around the point from Saladdan to fish off Long Beach. They'd wanted to beach rhe boat and go ashore for some reason, but couldn't because, as he put it 'there were two tigers playing like cats on the beach'. At that time the area around Krabi had wild elephant, Asian rhino, honey bears - was in fact a wildlife smorgasbord.

It's all gone now. The last time I went back to Lanta, I sat on Long Beach at night, with the lights of the fishing boats like a floating city on one side, the thumping dance music, the shouts of drunken party goers and the lights of the beachside resorts on the other, and thought of Ott and his father and uncle sitting under the moonlight in their boat beyond the breaking waves, watching the tigers playing where I was sitting.

I've never been back. RIP Ott Segeun - a gentleman, a self- educated scholar, and a wonderful friend.

[chooka]

money is more inportant

[Nowisee]

When I lived in the jungle on one of the islands, there were three guys that came by almost everyday with rifles.

One day my girlfriend asked them what they did up the mountain.

Smiling, they replied; Shooting animals, birds, etc...

Recreational killing...

They kill most anything that moves...nothing alive in the forest anymore... it's a disaster. And then they stand around and wonder why no more animals....not very bright.

[soalbundy]

Maybe they should all become Buddhists that would stop the killing, oh wait a minute aren't they.......

[RubbaJohnny]

As a nature lover it would seem appropriate to have a short time levy on birds.

A "modest " 10 baht tax added onto bar fines would be a light hearted way to help.

The Horn Bill could even get a second reading.

I'm not the pheasant plucker ,I'm the pheasant plucker's son and I'm only plucking pheasants til the pheasant plucker comes

[BSJ]

In our village the only bird life are scrungy sparrows and Indian minors. I guess they aren't good eating.

[Taco]

Amazing birds they are. There was a hornbill couple on koh phangan for a while. Wasnt shy at all. Came to my friends house often sometimes poaching a little food and people occasionally fed them bananas or fruit. Havent seen them in years now. Its a big island with lots of jungle intact so not sure if we can be checked off the list but its very possible.

[h90]

Rare birds !!! On a recent trip to my girlfriends village near Seka in Bueng Kan province the lack of a bird life was amazing literally there was none , in the week I was there I viewed approximately 20 birds total in and around her village and farm . I commented on this to my g/f she just laughed and said aloi mak mak and went on to say they go looking for nests also for eggs but very hard to find now . I would say all wildlife if eatable is in danger of extinction especially in that area.

get a different g/f who is a bit more aware of things. It is shocking when animals get extinct because they are aroi.....and that is even considered funny....

How will getting a different girlfriend make any difference to the local ecology and avian population?

non...you are right.....I just don't understand how you can live with someone so ignorant......

[Guitar God]

www.birdsthatfart.com?

That really sucks. I like to photograph birds and what I see in some of the places I go is unreal...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avianphotos

[wilcopops]

Thailand is currently trying to wriggle out of their obligations under the CITES treaty of which they are a signatory. The problem is with the ivory trade but this will only compound the problem as they seem pretty much unconcerned with the trade in these birds as well.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/social/437282/ivory-trade-plan-under-fire

[DeepInTheForest]

The Mlabri are the remains of a stone-age culture living in the jungle in small family groups, hunting wild animals for food. There are now less than 500 of these tribal people living in the jungle in this small area of Thailand and Laos.

http://life.adrianwhelan.com/nan/

Not to be nasty, and thanks for the good information; however, it's worth pointing out that the use of phrases like "stone-age culture" reinforces stereotypes that contribute to the genocide of indigenous peoples around the globe.

When you think about it, we are all the remains of a stone-age culture, aren't we? Although some of us leave a bigger carbon footprint...

[Yahooka]

Seen plenty of hornbills on Koh Phayam,never seen them before in the wild and they are a beautiful sight .