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Helmeted hornbills are a magnificent large bird of the forests of parts of Asia. They have a thick "helmet" or casque atop their large yellow beaks. In the hands of artists this ivory can be carved into intricate designs for collectors, and has been for thousands of years. But with the continuing decline of elephant ivory, and the growing demand of a middle class in certain parts of the world for ivory art, hornbills are the only other source of carveable ivory. Sadly, these ever-increasingly rare hornbills are being illegally poached by locals and smugglers funded by organized crime traffickers and provided with weapons, silencers, and other bits of technology to aid in killing/collecting these birds for their casques. In addition, helmeted hornbills only reproduce 1 - 2 eggs (of which only one survives) per year.
There are rays of hope in the form of a few locals and converted poachers plus local scientists who are doing everything in their power to protect these rare birds.
