New Delhi: December 19th was a special day for Hornbills at the Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary– a stronghold of the species– in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Kameng district. That day, a large hoarding carrying a warning that Hornbills are protected by the Village Forest Development Council, which would impose a fine of Rs 5,000 on anyone found killing the birds, was erected at the Seijosa check-gate of the sanctuary. WTI had the hoardings designed in Delhi and paid for their fabrication.

The hoardings were necessitated by the large-scale killing of Hornbills in Pakhui for their out-sized beaks, which the Nyshi tribals wear on top of their headgear in line with an old tradition. Wearing the beak, the tribe believes, is a sign of valour and masculinity, and the fact that the Nyshi form 50% of Arunachal’s population is a measure of the threat to the species. Countrywide, their numbers are dwindling alarmingly, and only Pakhui supports a healthy population.

Perhaps more important was WTI’s quick response to an ingenious proposal by local NGO Arunachal Nature and Wildlife Foundation (ANWF), made to WTI’s Executive Director Vivek Menon when he visited Seijosa on September 14. Giving the villagers fibreglass beaks resembling the genuine article, ANWF said, could wean them away from killing Hornbills. Since the spiralling demand for beaks is intensifying the threat to the birds, WTI’s Rapid Action Programme quickly had a consignment of fibreglass beaks fabricated in Delhi and sent to Seijosa.

The quality of the beaks was highly appreciated by Forest Department officials in Seijosa, and even by ministers in the State Capital, Itanagar. Mr Dera Natung, Arunachal’s Education Minister and a legislator from Seijosa, as well as an active participant in the campaign to save the bird, has promised WTI full support for its future conservation activities in the State.

At his suggestion, the fibreglass beaks will be launched on February 26, on which the Nyshi will celebrate their most important festival, “Nyokum”– an ideal occasion, because the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, most of the State’s ministers, and the Nyshi community are to participate in the festival at Seijosa.

At the celebrations, all Nyshi ministers will appeal to the entire Nyshi community to accept the fibreglass beaks, since Hornbill numbers in the State are rapidly declining. The ministers and leading members of the Nyshi community feel that the loss of Hornbills is a threat to their culture and traditions, of which the bird is an integral part.

To muster maximum support and participation in this conservation effort, a host of key officials and other individuals were roped in to participate in the December 19 function at Seijosa– the District Commissioners of East Kameng and Pashighat, Chairmen of the various VFDCs, the Honorary Wildlife Warden, State Forest Department officials, village elders, local villagers, State Wildlife Advisory Board members, and representatives of the ANWF.