WWF Insider: This Rare Bird on China’s Shopping Cart

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Helmeted hornbill at Budo Sungai-Padi National Park in Thailand.
© naturepl.com / Tim Laman / WWF

You probably don’t know this but every day this week, the fates of endangered wildlife will be decided.

Here, our bite-sized pictorial updates about wildlife (see more about saving the great whales and wild elephants from ivory trade) as we take you through the 70th CITES Standing Committee (1-5 Oct) which also leads up to London Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference (11-12 Oct).

CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is supported by the United Nations.

Where can you find the helmeted hornbill?

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Photo by @TimLaman. A male Helmeted Hornbill pauses on his way to deliver a stick insect to his mate in her nest to feed to the chick. I wanted to share this archival shot that I took in Thailand around 1999, when this species was a lot more abundant, so you can see what this birds looks like in life. I’m working hard now to get new images in of this bird in the wild, but it’s been a challenge. Due to the excessive hunting of this species to fuel the demand in China, they have jumped to “Critically Endangered” status. Stay tuned for the full story about Helmeted Hornbills coming up in the August issue of @NatGeo and please do what you can to spread awareness about this species. #onassignment #YearoftheBird #hornbills, #helmetedhornbill #endangered #endangeredspecies #RangkongGading @Rangkongid #Indonesia #Kalimantan #Borneo #cornelllabofornithology

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Native to Southeast Asia, the helmeted hornbill lives in the rainforests of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar.
Bukit Tigapuluh, or “Thirty Hills,” landscape, a deforestation hotspot in Sumatra, Indonesia. The numbers of helmeted hornbills in Sumatra have been decimated due to poaching. Fears are increasing that they may disappear altogether.
© Neil Ever Osborne / WWF-US
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Photo by @TimLaman. This view is my payoff for climbing trees and hiding in blinds. Once you see (and hear) a majestic Helmeted Hornbill flying over the rain forest canopy, it is hard to imagine anyone wanting to have a carved head of this bird sitting on a shelf….. but they have been poached by the thousands for the illegal wildlife trade. I know those of you who follow me on IG and FB aren’t the ones involved in that sort of thing. Help us figure out how to reach and educate those people that are. I believe if they can appreciate wild nature more, the demand can go away. All ideas welcome. See my new story in the September @NatGeo magazine, and the video at the link in my profile @TimLaman. #CornellLabofOrnithology, #endangeredspecies, #ThailandHornbillProject, #HelmetedHornbill, #Thailand.

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Range countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia need stronger international support to halt any further destruction of their populations.
A carved casque being sold in China. To address this crisis, we first have to get consumer countries — mainly China — to take action.
© Tim Laman, National Geographic 

SPECIAL YET CURSED: Why is this critically endangered bird killed for ‘red ivory’?

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Photo by @TimLaman. Helmeted Hornbills are one of the iconic birds of Indonesia’s rain forest, but in recent years they have been the target of illegal hunting and trade for their casques and bills, which can be carved like ivory. Yesterday I photographed this stockpile confiscated from smugglers in Samarinda, East Kalimantan at the Conservation Department office. On one table, we saw more than 100 hornbill heads and beaks, which was shocking, especially since I have been spending many weeks in the wild just to get brief glimpses of the live birds. Authorities in Indonesia are trying to clamp down on this trade that is driving this species toward extinction, and I’m hoping to raise awareness through this story, which is a partnership between @NatGeo and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Indonesian hornbill conservation group @RangkongID. Stay tuned for the full story about Helmeted Hornbills coming up in the August issue of @NatGeo and please do what you can to spread awareness about this critically endangered species. #onassignment #YearoftheBird #hornbills, #helmetedhornbills #endangered #endangeredspecies #RangkongGading #Indonesia #Kalimantan #Borneo

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The solid composition of their casque, ideal for carving, is what makes the helmeted hornbill different from other hornbill species.
Said to be more valuable than elephant ivory, the casque of the male hornbill aka ‘red ivory’ is especially prized in China, fetching higher (up to five times) prices.
© Tim Laman, National Geographic
Intricate carvings made from endangered species, like the helmeted hornbill, are becoming more popular in places like China, Thailand and Vietnam.
© WWF / James Morgan

Why is there a rising demand for ‘red ivory’ in China?

Birds’ nests are popularly traded in Borneo, then sold to China to be sold as herbal medicine. The helmeted hornbill, too, is regarded as exquisite carved decorations among the rich in China.
© WWF / Simon Rawles
Locals sitting on a truck in Sumatra, Indonesia. Chinese nationals often make their way to Indonesia to support the sinister trade, too.
© WWF / Matthew Lee
Pekanbaru Airport in Sumatra, Indonesia. Investigations into trade in Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia indicate that poaching of helmeted hornbills is the work of organised gangs.
© WWF / Matthew Lee

Want to know more? See more species, other than the helmeted hornbill, on WWF’s “Top 10 Most Wanted” Endangered Species in the Golden Triangle here.

Stay tuned to this space for more 1-min updates on global developments in wildlife protection.



Janissa Ng
+ posts

1 Comment

  • Simon Attwood, October 9, 2018 @ 9:41 am Reply

    A tragic case of when demand becomes too great….there’s a real ‘tragedy of the commons’ about this story, in which the hornbills are unwitting players. As the clamp down on ivory increases, has any analysis been done to see what other wildlife products (e.g. hornbill casques) will replace it?

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