Traffickers now target Indonesia’s maleo birds

The maleo is a black-and-white bird about 60 centimetres tall, with a splash of blue, orange and yellow on its face. It lives in the dense forests of Sulawesi, but to lay eggs it travels to communal nesting grounds on sandy beaches warmed by the sun or by geothermal heat. There it digs burrows with its webbed blue feet, lays its eggs and leaves. Around two months later the chicks hatch and, remarkably, can fly within hours.

The bird is the official mascot of Central Sulawesi province and of Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. It is now critically endangered, with only 4,000 to 7,000 breeding pairs left. Since 1983 the maleo has lost more than two-thirds of its 149 nesting grounds as housing and businesses take over riverbanks and beaches and as mines and roads cut through its habitat. Its eggs are also considered a delicacy, so nests are raided and fewer chicks are born.

A recent study in the Journal of Asian Ornithology identifies a new and serious danger: illegal trade in live maleos, driven by booming demand for exotic pets. The researchers documented three seizures involving some 25 maleos in 2024.