Malaysia: Storks in flight a sight to excite

Ling Poh Lean and Emilia Gazali New Straits Times 8 Mar 12;

"For example, there are storks from Singapore that fly to Johor on a daily basis. By mid-morning, they reach Johor from Singapore, feed there and fly back to Singapore at night."

Spotting the endangered species these days is a blessing

DUE to their dwindling population, one can consider himself lucky to see a storm's or milky storks out in the open.

Malaysia Nature Society president Professor Dr Maketab Mohamad said the public should not be alarmed if they saw storks flying by. In fact, they should be excited.

"Storks, or any other bird for that matter, are mobile and they move from one place to another in search of food and shelter.

"So, members of the public have the chance to see them in the open," he said when responding to a New Straits Times' picture on Tuesday which featured several storks perching atop some nests on a Pulai tree near Taman Emas, Batu Pahat in Johor.

He said the society had always been monitoring the birds' movements.

"For example, there are storks from Singapore that fly to Johor on a daily basis. By mid-morning, they reach Johor from Singapore, feed there and fly back to Singapore at night."

He said one of the storks favourite locations was Kuala Gula, Perak, known for its largest stand of mangrove ecosystem in the peninsula.

Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Siti Hawa Yatim believed that the storks spotted on the Pulai tree were not "newcomers".

"Back in 1990s, there were storks spotted breeding in that area. So, I think the storks have been there all this while."

The two common types of storks that could be spotted in the country were storm's stork (Ciconia stormi) and milky stork (Mycteria cinerea).

Storm's storks have been listed as endangered species in the red list category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while milky stork is rated as a vulnerable species, or almost endangered.

Siti Hawa said the birds could also be spotted in some of the residential areas in Batu Pahat.

She added that though some could be spotted in public areas, the locals would not harm the birds.

"Sometimes, you can see the birds on trees in some residential areas here.

"We do know of some residents who are very passionate about these birds.

"They will go the extra mile to tell other residents and visitors that storks are endangered species and the birds should not be disturbed."

Senior lecturer of Biological Science Centre of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Mohamed Hifni Baharuddin, said for the past few years, he observed that the storks' population had dropped.

"There has been a significant decline in the number of storks and as such, they have been listed as an endangered species."

Call for in-depth study on different storks in country
New Straits Time 10 Mar 12;

KUALA LUMPUR: More studies should be done before more milky storks are released into the wild.

Johor Malaysian Nature Society chairman Vincent Chow said reports on milky storks' dwindling population had been highlighted in recent years but to date, the information on the different types of storks was still unclear.

"While we are happy with the release programme by Zoo Negara, many environmentalists feel that the zoo should share the information with the public.

"Every detail should be made public and they should be transparent.

"While it is good to have such a programme, we want to know more about it, not just the results.

"Based on my observation, there is a possibility of inter-breeding between the different types of stocks which could have resulted in hy-brid species.

"But no one has looked into this possibility. How can we proceed with conservative work when we do not even know which storks are facing extinction?

"We only know the number of the birds in the zoos and the estimated number in the wilderness.

"No one has really carried out an in-depth study to find out whether milky storks or tinted storks are really rapidly decreasing."

Conservative work, he said, should involve collaboration from various quarters, not just the zoo alone.

"The public should be kept informed of such projects. Most importantly, the government must also get involved."

"This is because such programme requires not just a large amount of money, but also expertise and commitment," he said.