The Bali myna – Indonesia’s living icon, a bird with snow-white plumage and a mesmerizing song. Yet its extraordinary beauty became its greatest curse. Massive poaching, superstition, and the desire to own a living good-luck charm pushed this species to the very brink of extinction. At one point, only SIX birds remained in the wild.
While a modern state, armed rangers, and the strict international regulations of CITES proved powerless against the black market, salvation came from a completely unexpected direction. The Bali myna was ultimately saved by… the mystical wrath of the gods and the sacred Balinese village law known as Awig-awig.
In this film, we tell the remarkable story of the fight to save one of the world’s rarest birds. Discover how the traditional Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana and the power of community shame succeeded where firearms and law enforcement had failed.
You’ll also learn why responsible, professional captive breeding—including breeding programs in Poland—plays such an important role in the species’ recovery.
The film features a Bali myna (Leucopsar rothschildi) from Parrot Shop Warsaw (PAPUGI.com.pl), presented as part of a breeding program promoting responsible aviculture.
Chapters
00:00 Introducing our guest on Parrot TV
01:15 Living talismans and the curse of beauty
03:31 The price of beauty and the downward spiral
03:46 The fight for survival and the limits of law enforcement
07:08 Awig-awig – when shame is stronger than prison
11:44 The miracle of Nusa Penida: no rangers, no guns
14:04 Return to the ancestral homeland – a biological triumph
15:24 Why didn’t the gods help sooner?
16:19 Hope through conservation breeding
#balimyna #Indonesia #Bali #WildlifeConservation #ParrotTV #BirdConservation #AwigAwig #TriHitaKarana #Nature #Documentary
If you care about the conservation of endangered species, be sure to watch our other documentaries:
• Extinct Parrots – Why Did They Disappear, and What’s Next?
• The Spix’s Macaw Returns Home
• Endangered Parrot Species – Safe in Our Homes?
• The Collapse of Songbirds – Part 1: Poisoned Love
• The Collapse of Songbirds and Talking Birds – Part 2: Vanishing Forests
• Sing for the Songbirds – Break Their Silence
• The Cuban Amazon – Will Our Generation Be the Last to See It in the Wild?
• Kakapo – The “Flawed” Parrot. What Went Wrong? https://youtu.be/Qx1tuI7yWd8
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