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| Rangkong Gading (Rhinoplax Vigil) |
At the end of 2015, IUCN had upgraded the Hornbill's status from Near Threatened to Critically Endangered, another step towards extinction. Meanwhile, the Convention on Endangered Species Trade (CITES), has recorded this bird in the Appendix I list, or is threatened from all forms of trade.
SPREAD AND HABITAT
Although easily recognizable, but very rarely encountered. The Hornbill of Ivory inhabits dense tropical forest with large and tall trees in lowland forest and forest beneath the mountains to an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level. It can be found in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Thailand and small populations in Myanmar.
Indonesia has the widest habitat of hornbill. However, only large natural perforated trees with distinctive humps in front of them can be used for nesting. The weevil is used as a platform when perched, to feed the mother and child in the nest. This unique nest model is not found in other types of hornbills.
IDENTIFICATION
Hornbill Ivory, a very large bird with elongated middle tail feathers. From the end of the beak to the tip of the tail, the length reaches 190 cm with a wingspan of 90 cm and a body weight of 3 kg. With a characteristic that is skin neck without hairs red in males and bluish white in females. Then it has a symmetrical and tapered beak at the edges.
The horn or casque at the top of its beak is densely filled, weighing up to 13% of its body weight. Based on observations in the field, the horn is used in fights that often occur near banyan trees that are bearing fruit. Even his voice sounded like someone was laughing so hard and could be heard from a distance of two kilometers.
FEED
The main food of Rangkong Gading is very specific, in the form of a large banyan / fig (Ficus sp.) Fruit. Only undamaged forests can provide this large amount of feed throughout the year. Other foods in the form of small animals only consume about 2% of the overall food composition.
BREEDING
Like all hornbills, Ivory Hornbills only have one partner during their lifetime (monogamy). After finding the right nest hole, the female will enter and lock herself up. It takes around 180 days for hornbills to produce one child. Together with male hornbill, the nest hole will be closed using a mixture of clay dung spiked with dirt. A narrow gap is left in the manhole cover to take food from the male, and also to maintain temperature and cleanliness in the nest.
In the nest, the female will shed a portion of her flying feathers (moulting) to make a base to maintain the warmth of the egg. Female birds will not be able to fly and depend entirely on the male, until the child comes out of the nest. The stage of laying, incubating, hatching, until the child is ready to come out of the nest takes six months.
THREAT
The loss of forests as the main habitat, the lack of conservation efforts, and the rise of hunting is a terrible mix for the future of Hornbills. Various types of banyan trees that provide the main food for the Hornbill Ivory are considered to have no economic value so that its existence is never expected.
Since the 17th century Ming Dynasty, Chinese aristocrats have been eyeing the horn or casket of the Hornbill Hornbill to be made into various forms of decoration. The Indonesian Hornbills investigation and the Titian Foundation, supported by the Chester Zoo Conservation Fund, recorded that in 2013 around 6,000 adult hornbills were killed in West Kalimantan for their heads. Furthermore, throughout 2015 there were 2,343 half-horns of Hornbill Ivory successfully confiscated from illicit trade. The biggest demand for the hunt for the Hornbill Hornet hunt comes from China.
DO YOU KNOW?
Bird species are protected according to Law No. 5 Th 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems and has been recorded in the attachment list of species of wild animals and plants protected in Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 7 of 1999. Also based on Minister of Forestry Regulation Number: P.57 / Menhut-II / 2008 regarding the Strategic Direction of National Species Conservation 2008-2018 including Ivory Hornbills as a priority type within the hornbill group.
In the Kalimantan culture, Hornbill Ivory is a symbol of "Above Nature", which is a masculine nature of maturity. The hornbill is believed by the Dayak community as a symbol of courage, protection and a bridge between ancestral spirits and the Dayak community.
In the southernmost province of Sumatra, Rangkong Gading has a cultural value that symbolizes greatness and leadership for the indigenous people of Lampung Province.
BREEDING
Like all hornbills, Ivory Hornbills only have one partner during their lifetime (monogamy). After finding the right nest hole, the female will enter and lock herself up. It takes around 180 days for hornbills to produce one child. Together with male hornbill, the nest hole will be closed using a mixture of clay dung spiked with dirt. A narrow gap is left in the manhole cover to take food from the male, and also to maintain temperature and cleanliness in the nest.
In the nest, the female will shed a portion of her flying feathers (moulting) to make a base to maintain the warmth of the egg. Female birds will not be able to fly and depend entirely on the male, until the child comes out of the nest. The stage of laying, incubating, hatching, until the child is ready to come out of the nest takes six months.
THREAT
The loss of forests as the main habitat, the lack of conservation efforts, and the rise of hunting is a terrible mix for the future of Hornbills. Various types of banyan trees that provide the main food for the Hornbill Ivory are considered to have no economic value so that its existence is never expected.
Since the 17th century Ming Dynasty, Chinese aristocrats have been eyeing the horn or casket of the Hornbill Hornbill to be made into various forms of decoration. The Indonesian Hornbills investigation and the Titian Foundation, supported by the Chester Zoo Conservation Fund, recorded that in 2013 around 6,000 adult hornbills were killed in West Kalimantan for their heads. Furthermore, throughout 2015 there were 2,343 half-horns of Hornbill Ivory successfully confiscated from illicit trade. The biggest demand for the hunt for the Hornbill Hornet hunt comes from China.
DO YOU KNOW?
Bird species are protected according to Law No. 5 Th 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems and has been recorded in the attachment list of species of wild animals and plants protected in Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 7 of 1999. Also based on Minister of Forestry Regulation Number: P.57 / Menhut-II / 2008 regarding the Strategic Direction of National Species Conservation 2008-2018 including Ivory Hornbills as a priority type within the hornbill group.
In the Kalimantan culture, Hornbill Ivory is a symbol of "Above Nature", which is a masculine nature of maturity. The hornbill is believed by the Dayak community as a symbol of courage, protection and a bridge between ancestral spirits and the Dayak community.
In the southernmost province of Sumatra, Rangkong Gading has a cultural value that symbolizes greatness and leadership for the indigenous people of Lampung Province.
Source : https://rangkong.org
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