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Indonesian Wildlife Threatened Again

© Kenneth Friedman

Several years ago my wife and I taught environmental journalism seminars in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia; Yogya as it is called (pronounced Joke-ja), is the education center of the country because of its universities. Both cities are on the island of Java. Whenever we travel to such countries, we always try to visit local bird markets to get a flavor of the relationship between people and wildlife. We also like birds and the bird markets are always interesting because you get to see the birds up close and you can learn what they are fed. You also get to see other animals for sale, such as monkeys, squirrel-like animals, fish and sometimes reptiles.

In Yogya, the bird market is mostly an outdoor affair. Vendors sit with their cages on the pavement along one side of a busy street. It was so crowded that you could barely walk among all the vendors. Along with an assortment of birds, most of which we did not recognize, we saw small owls, small parrot family members, finches, parakeets and doves. We also saw a small wild cat (not a house cat). Near the bird market we saw a large barn-owl-size pet owl and a pair of young pet hornbills. We had already seen small monkeys for sale at the bird market in Jakarta.

Nearby on the much, much smaller island of Bali, we never got to see the bird market, but we did observe that many people keep birds as pets. One Java Rice Finch we saw was kept on a leash attached to wire threaded through its breast bone. The breast wire was about two inches long with a small metal stopper bead on each end. The leash was attached to this wire and it kept the bird on its perch with just enough room to climb into a nest or sit on the perch.

Bird markets and pet birds are the good news in Indonesia. In 1997, wildlife on the Island of Borneo suffered in raging fires that drove orangutans and other animals out of the forests and into the hands of villagers who sold them or ate them.

Compounding the Borneo crisis, Indonesian economics self-destructed. Political rioters who ousted the President also sent Chinese merchants fleeing the country in the wake of food riots. Indonesian currency lost much of its value. International investors fled the weakening economy. Consumer goods including food became scarce. Now people are jobless, hungry and suffering.

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