From Quarantine to Freedom: Intensive Care for Bali Starlings

At the Begawan Breeding Centre in Bali, we are committed to protecting the critically endangered Bali Starling. Our conservation efforts include providing proper care and nutrition to encourage breeding, and reintroducing them into the wild to aid in their population’s recovery.

Challenges in Reintroducing Bali Starlings to the Wild

Reintroducing birds into the wild is a challenging task, even for Bali Starlings that have adapted to their natural habitat through proper care and nutrition. These birds may still struggle to adapt to their new environment, especially in the face of various threats such as parasite infestations and natural predators like monitor lizards and snakes. Despite these challenges, Begawan has made significant efforts to reintroduce Bali Starlings into the wild from our habituation enclosure, as we believe that these birds play a crucial role in the conservation of Bali’s unique biodiversity.

Intensive Care for Bali Starlings

Recently, on 16 February, a pair of Bali Starlings, named King and Queen, were re-released into the wild. They were originally released in 2018, but recently, they were recaptured as Queen needed to be treated for parasites. Treatment while they were still free was attempted, but it was ineffective due to their paired behaviour, which caused feather loss. 

As a result, intensive treatment was administered by placing Queen in a quarantine enclosure and providing new medication twice a week. To ensure that Queen and King did not forget each other, our conservation officers placed King in an enclosure adjacent to Queen’s so that they could still communicate. Queen has recovered, and King and Queen, as a pair, were released back into the wild. Post-release monitoring has been conducted to ensure that they are still healthy.

Bali’s Unique Wildlife Showcased to a Global Audience

Tatu Film, a Portugal-based wildlife film production company, is currently seeking to showcase Bali’s unique biodiversity to a global audience. One of the film’s key features will be the critically endangered Bali Starling, highlighting the conservation efforts of Begawan. This provides an exceptional opportunity to promote the beauty of the Bali Starling and to raise awareness of the importance of conservation efforts. At Begawan, we believe that collaboration and innovation are key to ensuring the survival of Bali’s unique wildlife. (Adrian)