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[av_heading heading=’Hornbill protection in Northwest Panay Peninsula ‘effective’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
’ BY JUN AGUIRRE
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KALIBO, Aklan – Efforts to protect critically endangered hornbill species in the Northwest Panay Peninsula are effective, inventories of an environmentalist group suggest.
The Northwest Panay Peninsula – which covers the towns Pandan and Libertad in Antique and Nabas, Malay and Buruanga in Aklan – is home to two species of hornbills: the Writhed-billed Hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni) and Visayan Tarictic Hornbill (Penelopides panini).
The Writhed-bill Hornbill is locally known as dulungan in Pandan.
Rhea Santillan of the Philippine Initiative for Conservation of Environment and the People, Inc. (Philincon), a group that campaigns for the protection of endangered animals, said they conducted an inventory in 2015 showing that there are around 1,183 hornbill nest holes in Pandan.
In 2006, Philincon’s inventory recorded 502 nest holes and only 31 in 2002, the year when Philincon started actively campaigning for the protection of hornbills.
Santillan said another inventory is being conducted and its result is expected to be released on the first quarter of 2018.
The increasing trend in the number of hornbill nest holes is attributed to “Philincon’s effective nest protection scheme,” according to Santillan.
Meanwhile, Virgilio Sanchez of the Save Antique Movement said despite the increasing trend, threats like illegal hunting and poaching remain to exist.
“We have been hearing reports that several residents are hunting and poaching these birds for food and money,” Sanchez said.
Gianne Portaje, technical staff of the Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation Unit of the Aklan Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, said they are keeping an eye on activities that threaten hornbills in the Northwest Panay Peninsula.
“Our office has recorded rescues of these hornbills from Boracay Island and its neighboring areas,” Portaje said.
Hornbills are also believed to dwell in the Central Panay Mountain Range./PN
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