On the 11^th May 2019, Sarawak Eco-Warriors, the environmental group that I co-founded, organised ‘A Celebration of Birds’ event in conjunction with World Migratory Bird Day. The theme for 2019 was ‘Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution’ and highlights the dangers of plastic pollution to birds worldwide. Globally, a staggering 91% of plastic is not recycled but discarded as waste, choking landfills and birds. Birds tend to accidentally ingest plastic mistaking it for food and this has caused many of them to choke to death. In Kuching, we decided to celebrate hornbills, the emblem of our state, whilst at the same time raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution.

             The event began at 1 p.m. with a public talk entitled “Hornbills: Sarawak’s Pride” by Philovenny Pengiran, hornbill researcher at University of Malaysia, Sarawak (UNIMAS). As a hornbill researcher and a zoology graduate, she spoke about the different species of hornbills found in Malaysia, their mating seasons and diets. She also played several sound recordings of the different hornbill species to let us distinguish between the species. During her talk, Philovenny made us realise that hornbills are vital to the survival of our forests but are disappearing rapidly due to them being hunted for their purported medicinal values and their feathers.
 
Besides that, hornbills are slow to reproduce as they breed only once a year to raise one chick. As the mother and chick live in the nest for about five months after the chick hatches, the male is responsible to feed them. Unfortunately, if the male is killed by poachers, the rest of the family will likely starve to death. This has become one of the reasons why hornbills are being listed as an endangered species in Malaysia.
 
            After that, there was a video screening about hornbills. 3 videos were shown including ‘Call from Majestic Bird’, ‘Hunting the Helmeted Hornbill’ and ‘The Vanishing Bird’. All the videos focused on the dramatic increase in poaching hornbills for their casque, the bill of their hornbills. In certain cultures, the hornbills’ casque is a luxurious work of art and owning a beautifully decorated casque elevates social status. Given its unique look and colour, the hornbill casque can sell for around USD 1000. It is no wonder why so many are willing to kill hornbills for the amount of money they can get.
 
            It was very heart-breaking to see so many innocent hornbills being hunted senselessly for their casques. More than that, it motivated the audience to act against such things in the future. After the talk and video screening, there was a short Q&A session. Then, the audience was invited to fill out survey forms on what they thought of the event and actions they can do about the matter. One of the answers was to boycott all such animal products including hornbill casque, rhino horns and pangolins. When the public boycotts such products, there will not be a demand for it and when there is no demand, nobody would be tempted to hunt for these endangered species. Only then will they have a chance of survival.
 
             It may take years of law enforcement, research and monitoring and awareness efforts to remove hornbills from the endangered list. But let us not forget that every single bit counts towards the conservation of these animals.
 
 Picture Credits: Official photographers and Google Images