അച്ഛനെ തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ട് പോയി; സങ്കടം താങ്ങാനാകാതെ കുഞ്ഞു പെന്‍ഗ്വിനുകള്‍ ജീവൻ വെടിഞ്ഞു

പരിസ്ഥിതി സ്നേഹം അതിരു കടന്നാല്‍ സംഭവിക്കുന്ന ദുരന്തമാണു രണ്ടു പെന്‍ഗ്വിന്‍ കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങളുടെ മരണത്തിലേക്കു നയിച്ചത്. അപൂര്‍വ്വ ഇനത്തില്‍പ്പെട്ട ആഫ്രിക്കന്‍ പെന്‍ഗ്വിൻ കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങൾക്കാണ് ഈ ദുര്‍വിധി ഏറ്റുവാങ്ങേണ്ടി വന്നത്. ദക്ഷണാഫ്രിക്കയിലെ ജോഹനാസ് ബര്‍ഗിലെ മൃഗശാലയിലാണു സംഭവം നടന്നത്.

ഒരാഴ്ച മുന്‍പാണു മൃഗശാലയിലെ പെന്‍ഗ്വിന്‍ കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങളുടെ അച്ഛനെ കാണാതായത്. വൈകാതെ പെന്‍ഗ്വിനെ തങ്ങള്‍ തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടു പോയതാണെന്നു കാണിച്ചു പരിസ്ഥിതി പ്രവര്‍ത്തകരെന്നവകാശപ്പെടുന്ന രണ്ടു പേരുടെ കത്ത് മൃഗശാലയക്കു ലഭിച്ചു.മൃഗങ്ങളെ കൂട്ടിലിട്ടു വളര്‍ത്തുന്നതിനോടുള്ള പ്രതിഷേധമാണിതെന്നും പെന്‍ഗ്വിനെ അതിന്‍റെ സ്വാഭാവിക ആവാസ വ്യവസ്ഥയില്‍ സ്വതന്ത്രമാക്കുമെന്നും കത്തിലുണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

എന്നാല്‍ പരിസ്ഥിതി സ്നേഹത്തിന്‍റെ പേരില്‍ അവർ ചെയ്തത് വലിയ മണ്ടത്തരമായിരുന്നു. അമ്മയില്ലാത്ത ആ രണ്ടു പെന്‍ഗ്വിന്‍ കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് അച്ഛനായിരുന്നു ഏക ആശ്രയം. അതുകൂടി നഷ്ടമായതോടെ സങ്കടം സഹിക്കാനാകാതെ ഭക്ഷണം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങൾ ഇന്നലെ ജീവൻ വെടിഞ്ഞു. അച്ഛനെ കാണാതാകുന്നതു വരെ ഇരുവരും ആരോഗ്യവാന്മാരായിരുന്നുവെന്നു മൃഗശാല അധികൃതര്‍ പറഞ്ഞു.

തട്ടിക്കൊണ്ടു പോകപ്പെട്ട പെന്‍ഗ്വിന്‍റെ അവസ്ഥയും വ്യത്യസ്തമാകില്ലെന്നാണു മൃഗശാല അധികൃതര്‍ കരുതുന്നത്. പുറത്തെ ആവാസ വ്യവസ്ഥയില്‍ ജീവിച്ചു പരിചയമില്ലാത്ത പെന്‍ഗ്വിന് അധികനാള്‍ അതിജീവിക്കാനാകില്ലെന്നവര്‍ കണക്കു കൂട്ടുന്നു. അന്ധമായ പരിസ്ഥിതി സ്നേഹത്തിനിടയില്‍ വിവേചനബുദ്ധി നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടതാണു പെൻഗ്വിൻ കുടുംബത്തിന്‍റെ ദാരുണാന്ത്യത്തിനു കാരണമായതെന്നും അധികൃതർ വിലയിരുത്തുന്നു. 

Birds of prey like hawks and falcons have been used for hunting for thousands of years. Now they are defending Britain’s towns from pests

It is an image that could have come straight from a parliamentary sketch writer's column. While political hawks and doves clash inside the Palace of Westminster, real hawks patrol the skies above the famous buildings to control the population of feral pigeons – which, despite the name, are actually a kind of dove.

But it is not just at the UK's Houses of Parliament that you might see a bird of prey swooping after problem birds. Hawks are also at work around the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh and in many other towns up and down the UK – as well as in other countries. Birds of prey have even been deployed in British seaside resorts to keep control of gull populations.

There is simple and seductive logic behind the idea of falconry for bird control. Problem birds – usually pigeons or gulls – recognise a large bird of prey as a threat. As soon as the predator takes to the skies, they scatter.

Pest control is not really seen as a particularly sexy subject

As a result, the problem birds should stay away as long as the bird of prey is flown in the area on a fairly regular basis. The falconer has modified their "landscape of fear", creating a hotspot of terror that they avoid because they associate it with a threat of predation.

Falconry has been used to keep birds away from airportsand landfill sites for decades. Presumably it is effective to some degree, or the operators at these sites would have stopped paying the falconers long ago.

But exactly how effective? The question is not easy to answer because few scientists have investigated falconry for pest control.

Lesser black-backed bulls (Larus fuscus), European herring gulls (L. argentatus), black-headed gulls (L. ridibundus) on landfill (Credit: Terry Whittaker/2020VISION/naturepl.com)

"To some extent pest control is not really seen as a particularly sexy subject. It can get overlooked a little," says Aonghais Cook at the British Trust for Ornithology in Thetford, Norfolk.

In a study published in 2008 while he was at Newcastle University, Cook and his colleagues explored the subject. They investigated whether falconry and other pest control measures changed the behaviour of nuisance gulls at six landfill sites across the UK.

Falconry could be effective indefinitely, as long as there is enough money to pay the falconer to return on a regular basis

His observations suggest falconry can have a useful impact, and that it may be a better long-term deterrent than some other anti-gull strategies.

Pest controllers use many gull deterrents at landfill sites, from crude methods like fireworks to more sophisticated approaches like playing seagull distress calls through loudspeakers. These methods might work for a while, but Cook and his colleagues found that over a few weeks the birds gradually realised that the threats were hollow and learned to ignore them.

But the pest birds cannot ignore a bird of prey. "A large falcon or hawk scares the birds off and keeps them off," says Cook.

In some cases, Cook found that the number of gulls on site was lower after a hawk had been used for several weeks than it was during the first few days following the introduction of the hawk. To put it another way, the predatory bird became a more effective threat with time.

In principle, it is possible that falconry could be effective indefinitely, as long as there is enough money to pay the falconer to return on a regular basis.

An Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) (Credit: Rod Williams/naturepl.com)

Alex Atkins of the University of Cape Town in South Africa has come to similar conclusions.

On South Africa's golf courses it is Egyptian geese that are the problem. Some golf course managers pay falconers to trundle around the fairways on golf buggies, flying Harris's hawks that spook the geese.

Falconry on its own is unlikely in most cases to solve the problem

Atkins and his colleagues decided to examine whether the approach discourages geese from lingering on the links by monitoring geese at a golf course before and during a nine-week period in which falconry was introduced. Shortly after the falconry began, goose numbers fell by about 80%, and they remained low for the rest of the monitoring period.

"We found that the presence of an avian predator was effective enough to maintain low numbers of geese on the course, provided the falconry treatment was consistent and occurred once per week," says Atkins.

The hawks occasionally caught and killed a goose, he says. This might have kept the other geese alive to the threat and prevented them from habituating to the presence of the hawks.

So the science, what little of it there is, seems to suggest that falconry works. You might well expect professional pest controllers to thoroughly endorse this conclusion. But in fact they can be far more cautious.

A Harris's hawk in Trafalgar Square, London in 2009 (Credit: EPA European Pressphoto Agency B.V./Alamy)

"Falconry on its own is unlikely in most cases to solve the problem," says David Van Vynck of Van Vynck Environmentalin Tilbury, UK, who has been in the pest control business since the 1980s.

If the hawk is not there, it has no effect

His company uses a variety of pigeon control strategies. These include falconry, but Van Vynck says the birds of prey are generally only used to deter pigeons from roosting on a given building.

"We fly a Harris's hawk an hour before the pigeons wake up naturally," says Van Vynck. "Do that for about 10 days, and by the end the pigeons are so fed up about being disturbed that they'll find somewhere else to roost."

However, in other situations – particularly when it comes to discouraging pigeons from amassing in a town centre during the day – hawks are far less likely to have a long-term impact, says Van Vynck.

"People sometimes assume that hawks leave behind a scent that will deter the pigeons and keep them away," he says. "Nothing could be further from [the] truth. If the hawk is not there, it has no effect."

When the hawk vanishes, it makes sense for the pigeons to return

When a falconer flies a hawk in a town centre, the pigeons in the area might well scatter. Just as the theory suggests, the hawk is seen as a threat and encourages the pigeons to fly away.

But within a few hours of the hawk leaving the area, the pigeons may well start to return. "You've not achieved any residual effect from what you're doing," says Van Vynck.

Oddly enough, it is probably another danger that lures the pigeons back, says ecologist Matthew Kauffman of the University of Wyoming in Laramie: not the threat of a predator, but the threat of starvation.

Pigeons (Columba livia) at the Houses of Parliament (Credit: Sam Hobson/naturepl.com)

Often, pigeons congregate in city centres because they have identified the urban jungle as a great place to forage for food. One of their biggest sources of nourishment is the waste discarded by people passing through the city.

In 1995, wolves were successfully reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the western US

A hungry pigeon is always looking for places where both the risk of predation and the risk of starvation are acceptably low. The sudden appearance of a hawk is enough to encourage most pigeons to look elsewhere.

But when the hawk vanishes, it makes sense for the pigeons to return.

N.S. launches 'birds and bees' videos addressing sexual violence

HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia has launched a video campaign on sexual violence that features animated birds and bees discussing consent and other issues at a house party.

The campaign -- entitled Sexual Violence with the Birds and the Bees -- consists of short 30- to 60-second videos aimed at youth aged 14 to 20.

Community Services Minister Joanne Bernard says the province produced the videos in consultation with young people in order to talk about sexual violence in a way that "makes sense to them."

Community Services Minister Joanne Bernard says the province produced the videos in consultation with young people in order to talk about sexual violence in a way that "makes sense to them."

The videos are available on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, and will also be shown in cinemas across the province.

There is also a campaign website at birdsandthebees.ca that includes information on where to get help and how to support friends who have been subjected to sexual violence.

Bernard says the campaign, which is part of the government's $6 million sexual violence strategy, will cost $300,000.

UK police tackle Cyprus bird poachers

The UK authorities in Cyprus are doubling the number of officers targeting illegal songbird trapping on British military territory.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of birds are killed on the bases, mostly sold for food in what has become a multi-million pound black-market trade.

The crime team is being increased from a squad of six to 11.

Conservationists welcomed the move but point out that they must patrol a base that sprawls over 100 square miles.

They warn the problem is getting "worse and worse".

It's before dawn on Cape Pyla, not far from the party resort of Ayia Napa. A British police unit is scouting for signs of illegal bird poaching.

This is part of "Operation Freedom," a fresh effort by the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) authorities here to stop the trapping and killing of songbirds on British territory.

Despite the expansion in personnel, the area they must cover is massive - a key resting place for millions of migratory birds crossing the Mediterranean.

Vehicles rammed

The three-car convoy suddenly stops when one of the officers hears the sound of a bird - a blackcap.

But these birds don't sing at night. A short distance from the road the officers find what they expect to find: an MP3 player powered by a car battery, with a speaker balanced in the branches.

This fake birdsong signals to other birds that it is safe to rest here: it lures them into the bushes.

Officer Adamou finds an imitating bird device playing the call of a blackcap

Most nights, dozens of lures can be heard across the base areas each competing to attract victims

This means that the poachers are operating nearby. The police unit will not be welcome. Sergeant Andy Adamou warns: "I've had officers assaulted, shotguns pointed at us, vehicles rammed."

As dawn breaks all of a sudden the convoy picks up speed. It is during this brief period of first light that the poachers put up "mist" nets. They then throw stones at the roosting birds to get them to fly into the trap.

Sgt Adamou points through the open window: "Can you see it? The pole?"

Just visible above the acacia bushes is the top of the mist net. The officers jump from the vehicles.

Just a few metres from the track, they find almost 70 birds struggling in the fine mesh. There is no sign of the poachers although there is an MP3 player nearby.

It is silent, having done its job of luring birds to these bushes. The team works to free them, gently untangling and cutting the fibres from around their throats, wings and legs.

Image caption"Softly softly": the officers work to free the trapped birds

Officer Andreas Eleftheriou has a trembling songbird cupped in his hands. "It's like seeing a person in captivity," he said. The bird is in captivity too. He lifts his hands and opens them and the bird flutters up in to the sky.

"Back in the nature where it belongs," Mr Eleftheriou commented.

Sgt Adamou is using scissors to carefully cut netting away from around the belly of a blackcap. "It's an experience, when you hold one of these birds, you can literally feel the heartbeat in your hand."

A net can hold 400 birds - and this is just one site. Every night during the spring and autumn seasons, well over a hundred traps are set all over the territory.

Officer Eleftheriou says he finds it difficult to deal with the extent of the poaching. "I cannot be in a million places at once. You are in one place you know in one place else still some place else and you can't do anything about it," he said.

Death toll

Each autumn, hundreds of millions of songbirds fly south from Britain and Europe to winter in Africa. They concentrate along "migration highways" - but around the Mediterranean, an estimated 25 million are killed by hunters.

Nearly half of the migratory bird species from Europe, Africa and the Middle East are thought to stop to rest on Cape Pyla.

The most recent figures from the conservation group BirdLife Cyprus estimate that almost 900,000 were killed on this British land over the course of one year.

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionA bee-eater struggles in a mist net set by poachers on the British base

Most of the birds are eaten. The local dish "ambelopoulia" is a delicacy. The songbirds are pickled or roasted or fried and eaten illegally in secret.

The Cypriot owner of an olive grove in the British base area near Ayios Nikolaos tells us that the meal is "delicious". He says that people eat it in private in their homes rather than in restaurants.

"Now it's difficult to find so it makes it better when you get it!"

He added: "When people who are against it try it, then they change their minds."

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionA plate of 'Amebelopoulia'. It is illegal under Cyprus and the EU Birds Directive.

A meal of twelve birds can cost up to £60. A poacher can demand £1 a bird: it is a lucrative tax-free income.

If caught, a first-time trapper could be imprisoned for up to three years, or fined up to 17,000 euros. In reality, the average fine is 400 euros and only a handful of people have gone to prison.

James Guy is Divisional Commander of the SBA Police. He said: "The greatest challenges are cultural and political, because for some section of society here it's an accepted practice.

"The argument is that this goes back to their roots when a few birds were taken for the family table - when people were poor and when it was used to subsidise families in a purely eating sense. Now it has become commercial, there's no doubt about it."

Kicking off

It is a multi-million pound black-market trade and investigating it can be risky.

When three anti-poaching activists from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) approach the house of a known poacher, there are two men on the front porch and one of them yells and expletive at them and tells them: "I'm going to go and get my shotgun. Right now!"

Even as he continues to shout, the plucky group continues and ensure that the area is free from traps before leaving.

This is the second year running that Andrew Rose has come from England to volunteer. When undertaking surveillance operations at night furious trappers regularly chase after him through the undergrowth.

One of his colleagues was beaten with an iron bar. He says his time in the army infantry was "perfect training".

He has a lot of respect for the police officers patrolling out on the ground but says: "I don't think that they are resourced properly. We talk about trapping, but it's organised crime. It's a dangerous job they do and I don't think they get the support they deserve."

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionThe trade in songbirds is thought to be worth around 15 million euros a year

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionAmebelopoulia being served in a restaurant. It is illegal both under Cypriot law and the EU Birds Directive and Bern Convention

BirdLife Cyprus welcomes the beefing up of the police patrol teams. Clairie Papazoglou is Chief Executive of the organisation that has been monitoring illegal trapping for 14 years.

She said that support for tackling the poachers was now finally coming from the "highest level." She says: "We've seen that the bases want to make a difference and want to make this stop. They have been putting a lot of effort in."

But she points to evidence showing that the problem is getting worse and worse. "Having more people on the ground is an important element," she says, "but it's not enough. If you just take a mist net away then they probably have ten at home."

There are no fences ringing the territory and farmers cultivate some of the land so it can be difficult to spot where the trappers harvest the birds.

Ms Papazoglou says removing the bushes that the poachers use to hide their mist nets is the best way forward. Acacia is an invasive species that spreads like a weed.

It is the right height and density to make an inviting roosting spot. Getting rid of the bushes would make it very difficult to set effective traps.

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionAcacia bushes provide an ideal roosting spot for migrating birds

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionThe mist nets can hold up to 400 birds and are almost invisible when strung between poles in the bushes.

Image captionThis traditional trapping method is still used: "limesticks" are twigs coated in a type of glue. It's almost impossible for birds to escape

Divisional Commander James Guy says that they are trying. He estimates that they have spent half a million euros in removing 50 acres of the 200 that exist.

However, they have been hampered by local protests. In July, contractors arrived to remove some of the acacia and they found the road blocked by several excavators and around eighty 4x4s. Some two hundred locals and six MPs successfully disrupted the operation - so far the SBA authorities haven't tried again.

Andrea Rutigliano, from CABS, says: "We were always disappointed by the performance of the SBA authorities and by the lack of political will. Basically we've seen an attitude of tolerance and them trying to turn their eyes away from the problem."

Image copyrightBIRDLIFE CYPRUSImage captionTrapping dates back to a time when bird were needed to supplement the family table - to provide protein

പക്ഷികള്‍ ഉയരത്തിൽ പറക്കുന്നതിനു പിന്നിലെ രഹസ്യം?

അനായാസമായി കണ്ണെത്താ ദൂരത്തോളം ഉയരത്തില്‍ ചില പക്ഷികള്‍ പറക്കുന്നത് കണ്ട് നമ്മള്‍ അന്തിച്ചു നിന്നിരിക്കും. എങ്ങനെയാണ് ഈ പക്ഷികള്‍ക്ക് ഇത്രയേറെ ഉയരത്തില്‍ വളരെയധികം ദൂരം പറക്കാനാകുന്നത് എന്ന ചോദ്യത്തിന് വ്യക്തമായ ഉത്തരവുമായി എത്തിയിരിക്കുകയാണ് ഒരു കൂട്ടം ഗവേഷകര്‍. 

പ്രകൃതിയിലെ സ്വാഭാവികമായ വാതപ്രവാഹങ്ങളും കുത്തനെയുള്ള വായുവിന്റെ ചുഴികളുമാണു പക്ഷികള്‍ക്ക് ഉയരത്തില്‍ അനായാസം എത്തുന്നതിനു സഹായിക്കുന്നതെന്നാണ് പഠനം പറയുന്നത്. പക്ഷികള്‍ ഭൂമിയില്‍ നിന്നും ഉഷ്ണവാതങ്ങളുടെ സഹായത്തില്‍ മുകളിലേക്കു പറക്കുന്നതിന്റെ ചിത്രങ്ങളും അല്‍ഗോരിതവും ഇവര്‍ തയ്യാറാക്കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. പക്ഷികളുടെ രഹസ്യം പൂര്‍ണ്ണമായും മനസിലാക്കുക വഴി സമാനമായ രീതിയില്‍ തെന്നി നീങ്ങുന്ന ഗ്ലൈഡറുകള്‍ നിര്‍മ്മിക്കാനാകുമെന്നാണ് സംഘത്തിന്റെ പ്രതീക്ഷ.

ചിറകടിച്ച് ഊര്‍ജ്ജം കളയാതെ കാറ്റിന്റെ ഗതിക്കനുസരിച്ച് സഞ്ചരിച്ചാണ് പക്ഷികള്‍ മുകളിലേക്ക് എത്തുന്നത്. ദേശാടന പക്ഷികളും കടല്‍ പക്ഷികളും പരുന്ത്, കഴുകന്‍ തുടങ്ങിയ ഇരപിടിയന്മാരുമാണ് ഇത്തരത്തില്‍ വാതകങ്ങളുടെ സഹായത്തില്‍ ആകാശം കീഴടക്കുന്നത്. ഇതില്‍ പല പക്ഷികളും ശാരീരികമായി വലിപ്പമുള്ളവയാണ്. അതുകൊണ്ടുതന്നെ ഭൂമിയിലെ വാതക പ്രവാഹങ്ങളുടെ സഹായമില്ലാതെ ചിറകുകളുടെ മാത്രം സഹായത്തില്‍ ഇവക്ക് ഇത്രയേറെ ഉയരത്തില്‍ പറക്കാനാകില്ല. 

ഭൂമിയില്‍ നിന്നും കുത്തനെ അന്തരീക്ഷത്തിലേക്കുള്ള കുഴലുപോലെയുള്ള ഉഷ്ണ വാതക പ്രവാഹങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച് നേരത്തെ തന്നെ ശാസ്ത്ര ലോകത്തിന് അറിവുള്ളതാണ്. ഈ വാതക പ്രവാഹങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് പക്ഷികളുടെ പറക്കലുമായുള്ള നേരിട്ടുള്ള ബന്ധം പുറത്തുകൊണ്ടുവന്നിരിക്കുകയാണ് കാലിഫോര്‍ണിയ സര്‍വ്വകലാശാലയിലെ ഭൗതികശാസ്ത്ര പ്രൊഫസറായ സാന്‍ഡിയാഗോയും സംഘവും. ഭൗതികശാസ്ത്രജ്ഞരുടേയും ജൈവശാസ്ത്രജ്ഞരുടേയും സംയുക്ത സംഘമാണ് പഠനം നടത്തിയത്. 

കണക്കുകളാലും വസ്തുതകളാലും സമ്പന്നമാണെന്നതാണ് ഇവരുടെ പഠനത്തെ മറ്റുള്ളവയില്‍ നിന്നും വ്യത്യസ്ഥമാക്കുന്നത്. ഇവരുടെ കൂട്ടത്തിലെ ന്യൂറോ ബയോളജിസ്റ്റായ തെരെന്‍സ് സെനോവ്‌സ്‌കിയാണ് ലഭിച്ച വിവരങ്ങളെ അടിസ്ഥാനമാക്കി ഗ്രാഫുകളും അല്‍ഗോരിതങ്ങളും നിര്‍മ്മിച്ചത്. ഈ ഗണിത മാതൃകകളെ അടിസ്ഥാനമാക്കി വായുവില്‍ തെന്നി നീങ്ങാന്‍ സാധിക്കുന്ന ഗ്ലൈഡറുകള്‍ നിര്‍മ്മിക്കാനാകുമെന്നാണ് സംഘത്തിന്റെ പ്രതീക്ഷ. പക്ഷികളുടെ പറക്കല്‍ രഹസ്യം പൂര്‍ണ്ണമായും പുറത്തായാല്‍ യന്ത്രസഹായമില്ലാതെ മനുഷ്യനെ പറക്കാന്‍ സഹായിക്കുന്ന ഗ്ലൈഡറുകള്‍ നിര്‍മ്മിക്കാനാകുമെന്നാണ് ഇവരുടെ അവകാശവാദം.

'Flying ivory' hornbill bird gains extra protection

An Asian bird species under threat for its ivory like helmet has gained extra protection at the Cites conference in Johannesburg.

Numbers of the helmeted hornbill have plummeted in recent years as demand soared for the so-called "red ivory" that makes up its bill.

Prized in China the hornbill helmets are worth up to five times the price of elephant ivory.

The Cites meeting has now voted for extra efforts to curb illegal trade.

Casques for carving

Known for it's unusual call that sounds like a cackling laugh, the helmeted hornbill is the largest hornbill species in Asia and is found in tropical forests in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar.

The bird has been under pressure for years from the on-going deforestation and development of palm oil plantations.

But it's the hornbill's helmet, or casque, that sits on top of its bill that is pushing it to the brink of survival.

Unlike many other species, the casque is made of solid keratin, akin to rhino horn, and has long been valued as a material that's easy to carve.I

Image copyrightWCSImage captionA poacher is arrested in possession of hornbill casques

But over the past the past six years demand has soared, many conservationists believe, in parallel with the growth in demand for elephant ivory.

"They are quite large birds, the males can reach just over 3kg so they are relatively easy to shoot," said Sophie Adwick from the Zoological Society of London.

"It's often said that you can hear them before you can see them as they make a cackling type noise."

In 2013, it was estimated that up to 500 birds were being killed every month in West Borneo for their bills, linked to growing demand in China.

"This ivory can be carved more easily than elephant ivory, because its slightly softer, so it can be used to develop really intricate ornaments which are then sold as status symbols," said Ms Adwick.Image copyrightSPLImage captionThe soft material of the casque allows carvers to etch complex scenarios

"With increasing wealth across Asia, there is increasing demand, and these birds are being killed and traded at rates their populations probably can't support."

The loss of the males through poaching is also having a knock on effect on females, thanks to their unusual breeding behaviours.

The females make their nests in hollowed out trees and the males seal them into the nest using mud.

The females stay there for up to 160 days with the males bringing them food and feeding them through a slit in the mud seal.

When the males are shot for their bills, it's likely that this also results in the deaths of females and chicks as there's no one to feed them.

The species is already listed in Appendix I so there is no legal trade - but in an effort to get greater enforcement of protection for this species, Indonesia put forward a resolution and, after some amendments, the Conference of the Parties meeting here has approved a series of decisions that will improve the legal protection of the birds, increase co-operation between law enforcement agencies and encourage public education programmes.

"This convention has been focussed so much on the elephant crisis but we believe that the threat for hornbill is equal to what they are facing," said Noviar Andayani, from the Wildlife Conservation Society in Indonesia.

"We hope now that not only that the range states but also the destinations will implement stringent law enforcement to ensure that this illegal trade in this species will be prohibited forever."

How birds avoid mid-air collisions: Study finds they always veer right, and the discovery could help prevent drone crashes

• Researchers used high-speed cameras to record 102 flights of 10 birds
• In all of the experiments, the team did not observe a single collision
• Footage revealed birds always veer right to avoid crashing into another 
• And, researchers say the birds sometimes adjust their altitude as well

With the rise of drones and steadily increasing density of air-traffic, fears of collisions between both manned and unmanned craft have become far more urgent in recent years.

But according to researchers, autopilot systems could learn a trick or two from nature to become much safer.

In a new study, researchers in Australia investigated the ways in which pairs of budgerigars avoid collisions when flying head-on, revealing the birds always veer right to prevent a crash.

In a new study, researchers in Australia investigated the ways in which pairs of budgerigars avoid collisions when flying head-on, revealing the birds always veer right to prevent a crash. A stock image of budgies is shown

The team from the University of Queensland observed the flight paths of numerous pairs of ‘budgies’ released at opposite ends of a tunnel.

Each of the 10 male birds was trained to fly along the tunnel, but until the experiment, never encountered another bird in this setting.

While earlier studies have examined birds’ abilities to avoid obstacles or other members of a flock, the researchers say this is the first to look at a scenario in which they are flying directly towards each other.