TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Seized bird of paradise dies
Change Size
A rare bird of paradise, known locally as cendrawasih, seen in a cage in Depok, West Java. (Agence France-Presse/Romeo Gacad)
O
ne of four birds of paradise previously seized by authorities died at a quarantine center in Sibolangit in Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, on Friday.
The plot to smuggle the rare animal, which is an endangered species endemic to Papua, was foiled at the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, two weeks ago. The birds were shipped via a cargo service from Surabaya, East Java, to Medan without proper documentation.
The Conservation head of the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Region II, Herbert Aritonang, said the death of the bird was still being investigated.
"At the moment, we suspect that it died after a fight with the other birds. We found bite wounds on the feet of the dead bird," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Read also: Crocodiles, bear handed over to BKSDA
Herbert said the bird had been brought to a clinic but that its injuries were too severe.
"There are now only three birds left in the isolation cage," he said, adding that the dead bird had been put in a freezer for further investigation.
The seizure at Kualanamu was at least the fourth attempt to smuggle birds of paradise through the biggest international airport in Sumatra.
The four seized birds of paradise consisted of two males and two females. (bbs)
