The Asian helmeted hornbill has a unique feature that makes it particularly attractive to poachers.

The helmeted hornbill, about as large as the trumpeter hornbill in South Africa, has been fully protected on CITES schedule one for many years.

This bans any trade in this critically endangered bird.

The large casque on the top of its bill is solid – in every other large hornbill that lump  is hollow.

As Dr Richard Thomas of the animal charity Traffic explains: “The solid casque is made from hard red-tinged keratin, that can be carved like ivory.”

So,  gangs go into the jungles killing any hornbill hoping it is helmeted.

The CITES decision is to give additional assistance to the Indonesian authorities to protect the bird

The post CITES votes to give extrude help to save helmeted hornbill from extinction appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.