Poachers snatch shoebill

Aug 29, 2006

SPOTLIGHT<br><br>ONE of the eight shoebills at Mabamba swamp on the shores of Lake Victoria in Wakiso district has been stolen by suspected bird traffickers.

SPOTLIGHT

By Gerald Tenywa

ONE of the eight shoebills at Mabamba swamp on the shores of Lake Victoria in Wakiso district has been stolen by suspected bird traffickers.

The incident took place about two weeks ago and the poachers are suspected to be working for a zoo outside Uganda that wants the much sought after bird.

Achilles Byaruhanga, who heads Nature Uganda, on Monday said this puts the small population of shoebills at risk and undermines bird watching, the fastest-growing part of tourism.

He said reports from the local people implicate one of the guides at Mabamba and a tour operator who was allegedly intercepted last year by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) while hunting for shoebill eggs. He said the population of shoebills is estimated at 300 in Uganda and Mabamba is the nearest place where tourists can watch them.

UWA’s anti-poaching team has moved in to investigate and apprehend the culprits, but conservationists fear that the bird could have been taken out of the country.

Shoebills are pre-historic-looking birds with a spoon-shaped beak, wrapped in grey feathers. They live in marshy areas.

Herbert Byaruhanga of the Uganda Birds Guides Club said the trade was unsustainable and it put the country’s reputation and tourism at risk.

About five years ago, bird watchers and Mabamba residents recovered three shoebills that were being kept by villagers and brought attention to the conservation world about trade in the birds.

UWA, acting under intense political pressure, sanctioned trade in live wildlife species about a decade ago, but attracted global concerns from conservationists that are opposed to commercial hunting of wildlife.

However, advocacy groups want shoebills listed as endangered species, globally, in the hope that it will exclude them from the list of traded species.

The shoebill is the most popular bird for watchers coming to Uganda. It can be viewed at Mabamba, Nabajjuzi in Masaka, Kyazanga on the way to Mbarara and Murchison Falls National Park.
Uganda has more than 1,000 species of birds.

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