Hornbill ivory craze pushes Borneo’s icon to the brink

Illegal trade: Various hornbill ivory seized by the Forest Police Rapid Reaction Unit at its headquarters in Pontianak. The helmeted hornbill (right) is being hunted to extinction due to the rising prestige of ‘red ivory’.— AFP

Pontianak: A striking bird with monochrome plumage and a formidable “beak”, the helmeted hornbill is being hunted to extinction, one of the latest victims of a thriving global trade in exotic wildlife.

For decades poachers in Borneo’s western forests focused on capturing orangutans and sun bears, but in the past few years a surge in demand for hornbill “ivory” has pushed the avian species to the brink.