Koh Samet and the oriental pied hornbill

Posted by Party Pete on April 8th, 2008 filed in sightseeing

Koh Samet is appreciated by many Bangkokians as the tiny island provides an ideal getaway from the hectic metropolis. Sipping exotic cocktails on a perfect beach is only three hours away from their front doors.

However, Samet offers much more to those visitors willing to learn more about this paradisiacal island’s unique ecology, which many environmentalists try to protect. It isn’t very hard to spot one of the beautiful oriental pied hornbills, but if you not really know where to look, the Koh Samet skies’ king often remains invisible.

Not that long ago these birds including the great hornbills could still be spotted everywhere on the island. Today, only a small number oriental pied hornbill is living on Samet and therefore the Hornbill Conservation Society was recently established. Representatives of this society are happy to take visitors out searching for the handful of remaining birds. And truly, what a magnificent sight these birds are, sitting atop a fig tree or gently gliding through the blue skies searching food for their families.

With a little bit of luck you might even spot one of their unique nests. The female hornbill uses plant material, droppings and mud to construct the nest, which usually is located high up in the tops of the largest trees. The male bird will find the food and feeds mother and her newborns via a small slit until the day the youngster is going to fly.

Recently the country’s most renowned hornbill expert, professor Poonswad and some members of his team visited Koh Samet. They were invited by Samet Resorts, to educate the locals on how to protect these majestic birds. Koh Samet National Park’s luckily still boasts sufficient huge trees for the birds to nest in. In addition, nutritious food (native fruits) for the hornbills could still be found throughout this environment as well.

The migrant construction labourers’ poaching activities on the island are the real problem. When a bird is looking for food nearby these workers and spotted by them, the animal isn’t very difficult to shoot. An anti-poaching campaign has already been launched, distributing stickers and putting up signs across Koh Samet in a serious attempt to stop killing the few remaining hornbills before they’ll entirely disappear.

Concerned islanders and resort owners said that they would be glad to offer the poaching workers a free chicken instead. “Ask is the only thing they have to do. After all, the meat of the hornbill tastes horrible, so why do these workers even want it?”

Shooting these majestic birds for their meat is truly a shame, and this useless killing must be stopped!

Annually Koh Samet receives about 300,000 visiting tourists and there are several other problems on the island, which need to be solved. There are over-filled trash dumps, noise pollution caused by too many hired motorbikes, wastewater over-spills and overpriced taxis. Business operators still need to be convinced to act more responsible. After all, laid-back Koh Samet is also offering the more traditional holiday facilities, and positioned so close to Bangkok, it would be great to keep it that way!

Koh Samet tourist guide