With the country’s only wild population of milky storks under so much threat, it’s reassuring to know there’s a programme that is breeding the graceful waders.

IT WOULD really be a shame to lose the Kuala Gula population of milky storks. Should we fail, our children will have the National Zoo to thank for the sight of these graceful birds that it is raising in captivity. Spurred by the fear that the birds will soon become extinct, the zoo embarked on the project with the idea that the birds will eventually be re-introduced into the wild. 

After 14 years of successfully breeding the birds in the aviary, the zoo, in collaboration with the Malaysian Nature Society, is preparing to release 10 of the birds into their natural habitat. But it’s not simply a matter of opening the cage door and saying “shoo!”. In fact, it’s been going on since 1997, which was when 10 birds were moved from the zoo to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park. It was the first step in helping the birds to become accustomed to wild surroundings. 

Before actually releasing any of the birds, there will be an attempt to prompt breeding at the park’s aviary, says Doreen Khoo, the zoo’s bird section supervisor. To encourage mating, another 10 birds were added to the existing population at the park late last year. The birds are already showing signs of courtship, observes one of Malaysian Nature Society’s scientific officers (ornithology), Yeap Chin Aik, who is working with the park’s management in coordinating the breeding: “They’ve been seen grooming each other lately.” 

Having been involved in the zoo’s breeding programme for more than 10 years, Khoo is confident that the birds will soon mate, lay their eggs and raise their chicks, given the right atmosphere – which includes keeping animals in the park from entering the aviary. For instance, there are no tall trees within 4.5m of the steel aviary to prevent animals like long-tailed macaques from using the trees as launch pads into the enclosure where they could harass the birds. The netting enclosing the aviary also needs to be well-maintained to stop smaller animals from creeping in and disturbing the sensitive birds; if the milky storks feel uneasy for any reason at all, they won’t breed. 

Once a clutch of eggs is produced, they are incubated, by both parents, for an average of 28 days; in the wild, this is when the parents and the nests become easy prey as they cannot leave the eggs. 

Khoo says the next step would be to raise the chicks in captivity up to the fledging stage (when the wings are strong), clip their wings and then release them from the aviary. Clipping the wings will make the birds stay within the park area, which is important in getting them acclimatised to their surroundings. 

“We hope the offspring will stay in the park, which was picked for its similarity to a milky stork’s natural habitat, and which is a place where they can find their own food and, eventually roost there,” Khoo enthuses. 

Sounds like a good plan. But, as usual, there’s a fly in the ointment. In this case, it’s money. Or rather, the lack of it. With the 10 additional birds in the aviary, the Malaysian Nature Society has to find funds to feed its enlarged family. The initial amount of RM350,000 from corporate sponsor Land and General will dry up by May. 

One of the society’s executive officers, Andrew Sebastian, says the breeding project is the first of its kind in the region – he considers the programme an in situ one as the birds are living within their natural environment despite being kept in the 12m high enclosure and fed daily. 

The society will do all it can to keep it going – such as organising a bird race at the park to raise money; only RM6,000 was raised, though. That’s a drop in the bucket. About RM50,000 is spent annually on food and maintenance of the aviary. Now that the number of birds has doubled, the society will obviously need more money. Experts have also recommended that aluminium sheeting be used to cover the sides of the cage high enough to prevent harassment, and this, too, will cost money. 

About 10kg of fishes like kembong and sardine which land at the Pasir Penampang jetty 5km away from the park are delivered to the aviary twice daily. 

“We tried to raise some fishes and crustaceans, like prawns, in the pond in the aviary so the birds will slowly get accustomed to looking for food as they would in the wild,’’ says Sebastian. “However, a few trials were unsuccessful as the fish fry was consumed by the birds before they could grow into juvenile fish and continue breeding and re-stocking the pond,” he says. 

To do that, the society requires a water pump to oxidate the pond – one that is powered by solar energy, naturally. 

Having human settlements on the fringe of the park causes another problem: intrusion by pet cats and dogs. The park will have to look into ways of keeping these animals away from the aviary. 

The continuation of the project, says Sebastian, is vital to understanding the biology and ecology of the stork as scientific data on this bird is scarce. 

Recognising that very little is known of the milky stork, he says the project strives to provide an opportunity for locals to conduct research into the species. 

The society will draw up plans to monitor the behaviour of the released birds and mobilise its public membership for the observation process. – By Hilary Chiew