Bali Mynah: A great conservation success story.

Bali Mynah

For me, this story began 31 years ago when I came with my family to Indonesia on holiday. We commenced our time here with a leisurely three weeks on Bali (remember we had two small children in tow)! My most wanted bird was of course was the very rare & beautiful Bali Mynah (Starling). But alas, it was not to be! 

My most wanted bird for this trip!

In my life time, this species had always been rare & localized on Bali, but increased trapping for the cage bird trade had pushed it to the very edge of extinction. I believe the numbers were as low as fifteen birds at one point. Like all rare things, as they getter rarer they become more desirable to many & the pressure steadily increasing on the remaining wild population.

This bird was a captive bred bird

 that was breeding in the wild.

The authorities recognized this perilous state for the Bali Mynah & commenced a captive breeding program which certainly saved the species from extinction. Despite the breeding program being a resounding success, the release program was less so. They commenced on what is termed a hard release, whereby birds are released straight into the wild, without any support. Now, these released birds were born in captivity & almost certainly didn't have the range of skills present in truly wild birds. Unfortunately most of these released birds died.

This bird is coming to a feeding station in the wild.

Scientists learned from these early mistakes & when further birds were released, they began a soft release program, whereby birds were released initially into large aviaries & then the door was deliberately left open for the birds to explore further afield. However, food was still provided inside the aviaries & many birds came back to regularly roost & feed there. 

This bird was singing.

These captive bred birds now began to breed themselves & several nests were outside the aviaries in specially erected nest boxes, which the birds particularly liked. As the population steadily increased scientists realized the danger of having the entire population in one location. Consequently, captive birds were translocated to Nusa Pendina, an island off the south-east coast of Bali. The local inhabitants were given financial incentives to protect these birds & it seems to have been successful. 

This bird was in the dry woodland, 

close to our resort.

Meanwhile in the core area of the north-west of Bali, the birds continue to thrive & at the time of our visit, the population was around 450 individuals. We saw birds around our resort & even in the nearby village by the side of a main road! 

I think the main reason this has been a conservation success story is that the ordinary local people are on board with the program. People are proud of their bird & the tourist dollars it brings with its success. 

Delana & I saw so many birds on our few days in the area. It is difficult to comprehend that the world nearly lost this species only three decades ago.