Trinidad and Tobago's National Bird Threatened by Extinction
By Claudia Liburd
Trinidad Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Trinidad and Tobago National Bird, the Scarlet Ibis
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(Port-of-Spain, Trinidad) --- After six men were charged with poaching the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, the Scarlet Ibis, numerous game wardens and environmentalists now fear that the bird is under the threat of extinction.
The incident, which took place at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, was the latest in a series of poaching incidents and the men, whose names were not disclosed, were reportedly armed with rifles and subsequently shot, killed and skinned a number of birds in an effort to disguise the crime.
While the men allegedly attempted to dump the bodies of the birds, two of the carcasses of the birds were found in the men’s boat after Caroni game wardens Samsundar Ramdeen, Richard Ramlogan, Nicholas Leith, as well as Police, ambushed the poachers.
In Trinidad the penalty for poaching the Scarlet Ibis is $1 000 TTD or three months of jail time and the Caroni Bird Sanctuary which is located in the Caroni swamp is allocated a protected area for the birds with designated game wardens assigned to patrol the area for illegal hunters.
In light of these recent attacks on the Scarlet Ibis, organizations such as the Point-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust and other environmentalists have embarked upon several awareness campaigns with a view to saving the bird. ~~Adz:Right~~
