(my) fewer milky storks

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Fewer milky stork sightings - New Straits Times

Nisha Sabanayagam

 

PETALING JAYA, Tues - 7th March 06

--

From over 100 annual sightings in the 1980s to less than four so far

this year, the milky stork is yet another species Malaysia is in

danger of losing forever.

 

Listed as the most endangered bird species in Malaysia, the milky

stork (Mycteria cineria) is found only at the Matang Mangrove Forest

near Taiping.

 

It is a large water bird found in certain places in Southeast Asia.

Globally. the species has been listed by the World Conservation Union

(IUCN) as " vulnerable " , with an estimated world population of only

5,550 birds.

 

Most are believed to be concentrated in Indonesia, with smaller

populations in peninsular Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and also

Vietnam.

 

Wetlands International waterbird conservation officer David Li said

five sightings in Cambodia, 10 in Vietnam and two in Thailand did not

augur well for the species.

 

" At the last count in Sumatra in the 1980s, it was about 4,000, " he

said, adding that it was very likely that the number of such birds in

Sumatra was declining as well, based on recent surveys.

 

Li was speaking after the launch of a report on the " Status Overview

and Recommendations for the Conservation of Milky Stork in Malaysia " .

 

The Wildlife Department's director of conservation Siti Hawa Yatim

said the report would help create awareness about the serious danger

of extinction the storks were facing.

 

The report was the result of an 18-month field survey from August 2004

to January 2006 at the Matang Mangrove Forest, jointly carried out by

the department and Wetlands International with support from Malaysian

Nature Society volunteers.

 

" The status of the milky stork in Malaysia has been closely monitored

in the Matang area since the late 1980s, " said Siti Hawa.

 

The Perak State Forestry Department has also classified two areas,

Pulau Kelumpang Lake and Pulau Terong Lake, as protected forests under

its working plan.

 

These areas are the milky stork's main feeding, roosting and breeding habitats.

 

Yet the efforts undertaken have not prevented the decline of the

birds' population.

 

Siti Hawa said the monitoring had indicated that the milky stork

population had declined more than 90 per cent over the past 20 years.

 

" The total number of waterbirds using the area has also declined by

more than 75 per cent, " she said.

 

Forestry, fishing and hunting are noted as potentially having a

significant impact on the milky stork population and breeding success

at Matang.

 

Milky storks are wary of the presence of humans and are highly

sensitive to disturbances.