This Rare Bird Is Worth More Than Ivory to Poachers

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/01/27/bird-whose-beak-worth-more-ivory-poachers?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-01-27


The endangered helmeted hornbill is being slaughtered to turn its valuable beak into trinkets for the Chinese market.


Helmeted hornbill. (Photo: Doug Janson)

January 27, 2015 By John R. Platt

John R. Platt covers the environment, technology, philanthropy, and more for Scientific American, Conservation, Lion, and other publications.

The poaching of elephants and rhinos gets a lot of well-deserved media attention, but the widespread slaughter of another species is flying under the radar.

According to an undercover operation by the Environmental Investigation Agency, poachers are increasingly targeting a rare bird called the helmeted hornbill. The beaks of these Southeast Asian birds are then carved into jewelry and trinkets and sold in China, where they fetch prices five times higher than elephant ivory.

“The trade is definitely increasing, especially so in recent years,” said an EIA investigator who spoke anonymously out of fear for his safety. He reports that the quantity of helmeted hornbill products observed for sale “far exceeds published sightings of live helmeted hornbills in the wild.” All of the sales are illegal under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species and various national laws.

Helmeted hornbills, one of more than 60 hornbill species, live on the Malaysian peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Like all hornbill species, they have a large protrusion called a casque on the top of their beaks. These casques are valued throughout Asia as decorations. In many cases, such as among the Nyishi tribal peoples of India, the casques are worn as ornamentation.

FULL story at link.

[Politicalboi]

1. I wish we would do something about this

Only getting killed for their parts is sick. Disgusting. I wish we would declare war on poachers. Send in drones and take the fuckers out.

[Scootaloo]

7. Well, with our drone track record...

We'd probably kill as many of the birds as poachers...

[shenmue]

2. Damn folk superstition garbage

[Texasgal]

3. What a beautiful bird.

This is so sad...

[AtomicKitten]

4. Poach this, assholes.

[2naSalit]

6. !!!

Right on!

[Nay]

5. Jesus. I hate people. I really do. nt

[GoCubsGo]

9. That makes two of us.

Especially the ones who still live in the Dark Ages.

[midnight]

8. Thanks for the picture of this interesting looking bird. Hopefully the more people become aware of

their plight, it will reverse this trend and stop the killing of this bird.

[Delmette]

11. Why?

Do people destroy what they value the most?

People love the wilderness. They visit and leave trash. They move there and ruin it one house at a time. People see the beauty in an animal and destroy it and future generations for one tiny piece.

[flvegan]

12. And things like this...why I'll never be in power.

BOOM! Headshot.

Heh, poachers. Put a price on 'em.