KUCHING: A mural depicting Malaysia’s hornbills has been drawn on the wall of a school here.
A collaboration between WWF-Malaysia Sarawak Conservation Programme and Chung Hua Middle School No. 3, the mural, measuring 8.5m X 2.6m, depicts four hornbills species — rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), white-crowned hornbill (Berenicornis comatus), wreathed hornbill (Aceros undulatus) and wrinkled hornbill (Aceros corrugatus).
Fifteen people, comprising WWF-Malaysia workers and interns, artists, teachers and students from the school, took two days to complete the mural.
WWF-Malaysia International Climate Initiative Project manager Cynthia Chin said there were eight hornbill species in the state and they were categorised as totally protected under the Sara- wak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998.
“Hornbills are poached as part of the illegal wildlife trade.”
She said hornbills were threatened by habitat loss due to development.
“Hornbills are targeted by our organisation in its conservation work.”
Under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, hornbills are listed as a threatened species, with the rhinoceros and the wreathed hornbill listed as vulnerable, and the white-crown-ed and wrinkled hornbills as endangered.
She said she hoped the mural would raise awareness of wildlife conservation.
“We hope it will influence the authorities to come up with a conservation roadmap .”
She said the number of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles had decreased by 60 per cent between 1970 and 2014.
“We plan to paint more murals featuring threatened species, such as the sun bear, pangolin, orangutan and civet.”