Jakarta Globe 24 Apr 10;
The endangered white-winged wood duck faces a very real threat to its existence in Way Kambas National Park, as its habitat is destroyed by human activity, a park official has warned.
“The number of ducks in the park, last recorded at 75 in 2001, has declined rapidly,” Dicky Tri Sutanto, a park ranger, said on Friday.
He said sightings of the elusive duck (Cairina scutulata) had grown rarer, leading to fears of its imminent disappearance from the national park in Lampung, southern Sumatra
During a recent operation, officials spotted only nine ducks in the 1,300-square-kilometer park, a fall from the 200 seen in an earlier study.
“Future generations may never get to see these rare birds unless serious and immediate action is taken,” Dicky said.
The Way Kambas Bird Lovers Group, dedicated to preserving the area’s native fowl, has made four attempts so far this year to monitor the wood duck population and the biggest threats to its continued survival.
It has singled out fires set by encroaching villagers as being most responsible for the loss of the ducks’ habitat. It also blames the poaching of the ducks and their eggs, for food and as pets, for the decline in its population.
Wildlife Conservation Society executive Doni Gunardi said the wood duck population in the national park numbered in the thousands in 1985, but had since fallen to a few hundred.
He urged an immediate end to the illegal poaching of the highly protected ducks within the national park.
The ducks will sometimes flock together in groups of 50 to 100 in swampy areas in the park toward the start of the dry season, but such sightings are extremely rare, Doni said.
They mate at the onset of the rainy season, and their eggs hatch the following March or April.
Other substantial populations of the white-winged wood duck are found in India, Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Antara
Forest ducks in national park on brink of extinction
Antara 23 Apr 10;
Sukadana, East Lampung (ANTARA News) - Because their habitat is shrinking fast, forest ducks (cairina scutulata) in Way Kambas National Park (WKNP), East Lampung, are now threatened with extinction, a park official said.
"The number of ducks in WKNP forests which in 2001 was recorded at only 75 has decreased rapidly," Dicky Tri Sutanto, a WKNP ranger, said here Friday.
Forest ducks were now rarely seen in the park and it was therefore believed they were on the verge of extinction, Dicky said.
Recently the WKNP management carried out a duck monitoring program in the area but only nine of them were found, whereas at one time in the past the WNKP had 200 forest ducks.
"Our future generations might not be able to witness these rare fowl species unless their fate is improved soon and seriously," he said.
He said the "Way Kambas Bird Friendly Group" which is dedicated to preserving the fowl population in the region, had this year made four attempts to monitor the forest duck population and the biggest threats to their existence.
The monitoring results showed the biggest threat to the forest duck population was illegal activities by humans such as bird hunting and fishing in the area, not to mention damage by forest fires.
The swamp area where the ducks usually nest was also shrinking, forcing the species to abandon their habitat, only to be captured by local villagers, he said.
According to Wildlife Conservation Society Non-Governmental Organization (WCS-NGO) executive Doni Gunardi, the forest duck population in the national park in 1985 ran into the thousands but now only a few hundred had remained.
Doni said forest ducks were highly protected animals, because they had become increasingly scarce and were no longer easily found. During the surveys, they were usually found in groups of 50-100 ducks in one pond.
He called on many parties to be more concerned about the rare fowl by not conducting illegal hunting.
Forest ducks were often to be found in Way Gajah swamps within the national park during summertime when the waters are drying out and they gathered in one location.
The early rainy season was the ducks` mating season and the time for female ducks to lay their eggs that would hatch in March or April.(*)
