Revered symbol in serious decline

A pair of maleos looking for a spot to lay an egg on a beach in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia. — AP

A PAIR of tall birds with black feathers and pinkish breasts crossed a noisy road to reach a quiet part of a sandy tourist beach in the outskirts of Mamuju, a small town at the westernmost part of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.

There the maleos took turns digging a deep hole with their feet, then the female laid an egg several times as big as a chicken’s and buried it. When the birds departed, one of several poachers watching and waiting unearthed an egg prized as a delicacy.