The weather looked bright when entered the forest area in Biak, West Papua. Just entered about 200 meters into the forest, the sound of birds shouted. Daytime bird whistles or parrot screams can be heard. That said, this number has been much reduced from a few decades ago.

In general, the forest area in Biak Numfor reaches 206,000 hectares, of which 58 percent is protected forest area and 42 percent is production forest. The forest vegetation is quite diverse. And one of the animals that has become an icon of Biak is the mambruk bird.

Mambruk is a large bird with a color that is not so flashy. dominated by gray with scaly legs like chickens. This bird only has three toes. His voice seemed stuck in his throat; bruk bruk bruk… in a long tone.

In his email correspondence, Mohammad Irham, a bird researcher from the Indonesian Research Institute (LIPI), explained that the mambruk (Goura sp.) is a member of the Columbidae family or group of pigeons. In general, its distribution is throughout the island of Papua (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), excluding small islands. Except in the Raja Ampat Islands, Yapen and Biak.

Mambruk is also the only type of pigeon that is large (58-79 cm). This bird is very beautiful with its crown decoration, red eyes with a black ‘mask’ and its gray and maroon feathers on the wings. And ecologically, this species only inhabits the Papua region (Indonesia and PNG).

Mambruk reproduce by laying eggs. Each female will produce one egg. In the past, local people hunted mambruk in Biak for food. Or captured for maintenance.

According to Sefnat, a local resident, “People have been banned from arresting them, so we don’t catch them anymore,” he said.

In Biak, before there were restrictions and restrictions on catching certain birds, residents were looking for mambruk nests in the forest. If you find puppies, it will be easier to care for.

“Like a chicken if it’s tame. So it can be released in the yard. Flying is also not strong,” said Yosep, another Biak resident.

In Indonesia, there are three types of mambruk, first mambruk ubiaat (Goura cristata), mambruk victoria (Goura victoria) and mambruk south (Goura scheepmakeri). I also had the chance to see these two species in person at the Biak bird park, one each victoria and ubiat.

Meanwhile, to distinguish the sex of each individual, it is rather difficult if you only look at the external morphological appearance. But it has to be DNA sexing or surgery.

Mambruk ubiat not so big. The crown on his head is gray and has no other variations. Meanwhile, Victoria’s mambruk, at the end of the crown is like a fan and has an ornament. Meanwhile, there is no data for the age range of each individual collapsing in nature.

However, according to Mohammad Ihram, mambruk living in artificial facilities, such as zoos can reach 35 years or more. For example, the victoria mambruk species at the Rotterdam Zoo were recorded to be 35 years old. Some keepers in Indonesia report having this bird for more than 40 years.

The high demand in the market and the rapid opening of habitat for the development of logging and hunting activities, has made the existence of mambruk in nature tend to decrease every year. “Unfortunately, data on the estimated population of the collapse are currently not available,” explained Mohammad Ihram in his email.

Papua’s nature is extraordinary. Entering the Biak forest for four days, it’s hard to write down all that admiration. But if the forest is gone then the natural wealth including the existing birds will only be a story. Hopefully sustainable.