Narcondam Hornbills edge back from the brink

The island habitat of the endangered species was slated to host a defence post, raising ecologists’ concerns

Amid shrinking natural habitats and climate change driving several species to the brink of extinction, reports of a growing population of the endangered Narcondam Hornbill offer ecologists some cheer.

A visit to Narcondam on December 16 and 17 by C. Sivaperuman, a scientist with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), found a healthy population of the bird. “We could spot a number of breeding pairs and young birds. In a span of a few hours, we could spot more than a hundred of these birds,” Mr. Sivaperuman told The Hindu.

With a velvet-black plumage and an oversized yellow beak, the Narcondam Hornbill and its remote habitat were the centre of a controversy following a 2014 proposal to install a Defence Ministry listening post on the remote island in the Andaman and Nicobar chain. The 7 sq. km. island, a declared wildlife sanctuary, is near Myanmar’s Coco island, where the Chinese have a military presence.

Despite strong reservations from a number of environmentalists and experts, the office of the Lt. Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands had suggested in August 2014 that an alternative home for the species be considered as Narcondam was a “vital place for strategic surveillance and establishment of a radar station”.

Fortunately for the bird, considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and on the Red List of threatened species, the Defence Ministry did not pursue the matter.

D.M. Shukla, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Andaman and Nicobar Island, told The Hindu that there had been no construction on the island, except for a police outpost.

According to experts, Yahya and Zarri conducted one of the last detailed studies on the Narcondam Hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami) in 2002, when they estimated 68-85 breeding pairs of the bird with a population of about 400 individuals.

Though Mr. Sivaperuman has not conducted a count of the birds on the island, he said, “The number is definitely more than 400.”

Plans are afoot for long-term studies of the endangered bird. “Considering the isolation of this important species and scanty information on its ecology and biology, a two-day survey was conducted to prepare a long-term monitoring proposal,” Mr. Sivaperuman said.

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