In search of Syria's pigeon smugglers

By Stephen PeirisBeirut

16 March 2016

Many people in the Middle East love pigeons - it's a passion that can dissolve all religious and national divisions. Some of the finest birds were bred in Syria until the civil war intervened. Now Syrian birds are being smuggled to Lebanon, across front lines and through areas controlled by the Hezbollah militia.

"Five kilometres from here are the marijuana fields," I'm told as I step out of the car in front of a pet shop in Lebanon's North Bekaa Valley.

Darkness enshrouds us. An ape in a cage stares as I walk past. I pause to take a photo but a strong arm pulls me away.

"No photos outside. This is Hezbollah territory."

I had already worked that out. The marijuana fields are Hezbollah's too - and apparently a significant source of income. But my companions seem less relaxed than before so I put the camera away and ask if this means we're in danger.

"No," comes the answer.

"You're here with Nasser al-Hindi. You're here for the pigeons."

My interest in the pigeon smugglers of Syria was sparked in Amman, the cosmopolitan capital of Jordan, at Nasser al-Hindi's home.

He has bred pigeons for more than 30 years and the coop on his roof contains birds unlike any ever seen mobbing tourists on London's Trafalgar Square.

The breeds have poetic names - Ablak, Baghdadi, Rihani, Shikli. Some specimens are valued at $15,000 (£10,500) or more and many wear jewelled anklets on their feet.

The full collection is worth well over $1m (£705,000) and the 250-plus birds live in a style that befits their value: the coop is air-conditioned, with rows of individual cages for star pigeons, and a separate veterinary wing.

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ISIS takeover pushes rare bird to brink of extinction

The caretaker of the nearly-extinct northern bald ibises was forced to flee after Islamic State took over Palmyra.

The rare northern bald ibis could soon be extinct as a result of the Islamic State takeover of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, according to a report by the BBC on Monday. Three extremely rare ibises were kept in captivity in the central-Syrian city. Their condition has been unknown since the caretakers were forced to flee the town after Islamic State militants stormed the city on May 20. 

A search is also underway for an important fourth, female bird, named Zenobia. The Society for the Protection of Animals in Lebanon said that she is the only one of the birds to know the ibises's winter migration route to Ethiopia. A $1,000 reward is being offered for anyone with leads on the Zenobia's location. They say that without her, the birds kept in captivity would not be able to be released.

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The end of a (sub)species? Syrian bald ibis population reduced to just 1 bird

Last Northern Bald ibis in Syria?

May 2013. Despite the current crisis in Syria, the Northern bald Ibis field team have continued to monitor the ibis, and have reported the sad news that only one Northern bald ibis has returned to the breeding site at Palmyra this spring. Unfortunately, there are no signs of any more birds so far returning from their migration to Ethiopia. The returning female, known as ‘Zenobia' was last year paired to ‘Odeinat', the last male. Odeinat was fitted with a small satellite tag that stopped transmitting in southern Saudi Arabia in July 2012 

4 birds seen in Ethiopia

It has not been possible to search for Odeinat, as the last signals did not give an accurate location. Subsequently, a total of four birds was seen briefly in January this year by Yilma Abebe and Tariku Dagne (a visit supported by the Ethiopian Natural History Society and the Culture and Tourism Office of Ethiopia, with funds from RSPB) at the usual Ethiopian highland wintering site, but it now seems clear that only one of these birds has returned to the breeding area.

Rediscovered in 2002

This looks ominously like it may be the end for the relict eastern population of the species, having beenrediscovered in 2002 when there were 3 breeding pairs. Despite huge efforts the colony dwindled to just one pair in the past two years and now it seems to just the one bird. This comes at a time when coordinated efforts are strengthening and indeed after the establishment of the new International Working Group was held in Jazan, Saudi Arabia in November 2012

Further release of captive birds?

Among the hopes for maintaining the eastern population are further releases from the former colony site at Birecik in SE Turkey where a semi-wild population persists. Meanwhile the only other wild population, which is also the subject of dedicated conservation efforts by Souss-Massa National Park and the Spanish BirdLife International Partner SEO /BirdLife, has remained relatively stable (some recent increases) over the past 20 years despite the growing development pressures, but still only comprises just over 100 breeding pairs at only two colonies in Morocco.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/northern-bald-ibis-syria.html