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3rd August, 2012
LABUAN: Labuan Bird Park, which has become the acquisition and breeding centre for Borneo and tropical bird species, recently released 25 birds of the Rufous Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) and Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) species at the Kinabenua Mangrove Forest reserve.
Labuan Bird Park Manager (TBL), Fatmawati Mohammad Puzi said, the successful release of the birds was a ‘feather in the cap’ for TBL after breeding the two birds species in captivity for the past 15 years at its aviary.
“From six birds of the Rufous Night Heron species and three birds of the Black-crowned Night Heron species reared in captivity in TBL for the past 15 years, we have successfully bred up to 50 birds, half of which we have now released at the Kinabenua Mangrove Forest Reserve,” she said in a statement here.
She said both the bird species are listed in Schedule II of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 under Act 716.
Meanwhile, the release of the birds were successfully undertaken by the Director of Veterinary Department, Labuan, Dr. Elizabeth Edward Juan at the mangrove forest reserve.
According to Fatmawati, the release of these birds fulfills the objectives of TBL in breeding and conservation, especially involving tropical bird species for release into their natural habitat.
“It would also allow these species to survive and reproduce in their natural habitat and in so doing help to increase its population widely in the Federal Territory of Labuan,” she said.
She added that all the birds that were released had been duly tagged with numbers affixed to the bird’s feet for identification and reference by TBL in time to come.
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