When we think about birds in Singapore, one of the species that comes to mind is our very own iconic Oriental pied hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris. Did you know that we used to have other hornbills as well? One of the hornbills that historically occurred in Singapore is the Helmeted hornbill Rhinoplax vigil but is now locally extinct (Gibson-Hill 1950).

Source: Dreamtime, with permission

The Helmeted hornbill can usually be found in low-lying forests across Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, and Thailand  (URL). Unfortunately, the helmeted hornbill faces the threat of extinction throughout the region, with its conservation status being recently uplisted to Critically Endangered in 2015 – only one class away from being extinct in the wild (URL).

IUCN Red List Categories. Source: IUCN

The only hornbill with a solid casque, this extra weight makes the species a target for illegal poaching (URL). I’ve contacted Dr. Anuj Jain to give us more insight into the threats that these birds face.

“Despite it being a completely protected species, it is being hunted because its casque is in great demand as a material for carved jewelry and ornaments in China.”

Although the trade has been ongoing at low levels for several centuries, there was a drastic increase in Helmeted hornbill poaching and demand in recent years.

He then goes on to explain that with the “rising wealth among the middle class, it caused the demand to explode to completely unsustainable levels”

A helmeted hornbill head that’s been carved intricately. Carving of the bird’s bills for ivory has led to a massive decline in this species. This was dropped off by an anonymous donor more than a dozen years ago at the Houston Zoo. ©Joel Sartore/ National Geographic Photo Ark, with permission

Thankfully, the uplisting of the bird has helped raise awareness about the species, increased resources, and initiated concerted conservation action (URL). I then proceeded to ask Dr. Anuj more questions.

How specifically has the uplisting helped with the population?

“Of particular relevance is the development of the multi-country action plan by more than 30 conservation organizations in 2017. A year later the Helmeted Hornbill Working Group was formalized.”

Are the measures in place by the Helmeted Hornbill Working Group enough?

“The majority of actions are targeted at conserving the wild populations. It may come as a surprise that till recently there were huge knowledge gaps about the bird’s distribution and population baselines. Over the past 2 years, we have identified many priority sites to be secured as safe havens. Equally urgently, consumers of Helmeted Hornbill products need to be profiled so targeted demand reduction measures can be launched.”

This is just one of the many species pushed to the brink of extinction due to illegal wildlife trade. I hope that this post has illuminated the reality of the trade and has given you a glimpse into what is being done to protect the species. As mentioned, the identification of those involved in the trade is important and I hope to provide some insights on that in future blog posts. Until then, have a good week!

*Interestingly, when researching, many websites refer to their casque as “ivory”. After speaking with Dr. Anuj, however, he mentioned that we ought to be careful with associating the word “ivory” to these birds. This is because the casque is technically not ivory and the association might unknowingly raise the demand of the casque as a luxury product. Something for us to beware of!

References

Gibson-Hill, C.A. (1950). A checklist of birds of Singapore island. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum, 21: 132–183.