Return Of The King

As the final installment in an epic film trilogy, "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" was an action-fantasy spectacle that had fans and viewers riveted.The new documentary "Singapore Hornbill Project - Return of the King" may not have the same blockbuster glamour as its namesake, but is no less fascinating. This 40-minute film is about the hornbill, the King of the Forest, and the massive challenge of bringing it back to Singapore's forests.

The "Singapore Hornbill Project - Return of the King" is a labour of love that chronicles the six-year journey of the team that has been studying the Oriental Pied Hornbill, and their progress so far. This documentary feature was produced by Singapore Hornbill Project team leader Marc Cremades and other members, together with a film crew from France.

The tale of this King of the Forest is similar to that of other displaced monarchs: it was deposed by threats to its domain. This spectacular native bird of Singapore disappeared from our forests in the mid-1800s, possibly due to hunting and loss of suitable habitat.

Over the next hundred years, even though Oriental Pied Hornbills occasionally visited Singapore from the forests of neighbouring countries, none remained here to breed. The reason? There was a shortage of big, old trees, with the natural cavities that hornbills require for making their nests. It was only in 1994 that a pair was sighted at Pulau Ubin.

Did You Know?
The hornbill's nesting behaviour is unique. The female seals herself in a tree hole for a few months, where she lays and incubates her eggs. She breaks out only when the nestlings have acquired their adult feathers and are ready to fly.

To encourage the return of these majestic birds from 'exile', NParks provided artificial nest boxes for the wild Oriental Pied Hornbills. This project had its challenges along the way. "Nature does not follow man-made protocols. Sometimes we are successful; sometimes we fail," said Wong Tuan Wah, Director of Conservation, NParks. He cited instances of seeing hornbill chicks in nest boxes via the CCTVs installed inside, only to later find that they were cannibalised by their mothers. In producing the film, the film crew and project team were very mindful not to interfere with the birds' habitat. This proved extremely challenging, given that their nesting boxes are typically 8 to 13 metres high. "We had the technical problem of getting close to the hornbills for three months, without making disturbances to the area," said Marc, who also served as the zoology advisor of the 2003 Oscar nominated documentary film "Winged Migration".

Without giving away too many details of the film, it is sufficient to say that it has a happy ending. The hornbill project, despite its challenges, has been a fantastic success to date. Several nest boxes are now in use every year, and the population in Singapore has grown to more than 50 resident birds, spread out throughout parts of Singapore from their original site in Pulau Ubin. And the numbers are still going up.

You too can get a rare glimpse into the fascinating process of bringing the Oriental Pied Hornbills back to our forests. "Singapore Hornbill Project - Return of the King" will be screened at the Function Hall of the Singapore Botanic Gardens' Botany Centre from 16 - 17 January 2010, at 10 am. The film screening will be followed by a question and answer session with the filmmakers and Singapore Hornbill Project researchers. Admission is free. Find out more here.

By Dr. Geoffrey Davison & Germaine Ong

The CCTVs installed in and around the nest boxes allowed the researchers and filmmakers to monitor the hornbills discreetly, and from a distance. Ever since their return to Singapore, the Oriental Pied Hornbills have been sighted not only in the forest, but also on rooftops One of the artificial nest boxes installed by NParks, with its current occupants.