A temple in Nonthaburi province has agreed to delay its plan to pull down dead Yang trees (Dipterocarpus alatus) in its compound, after 12 Alexandrine parakeets were found nesting there.
Phra Mahacheep Suthiyano, abbot of Madua Temple, said that they wanted to cut the trees down because they had died more than ten years ago and the branches occasionally fall down, causing damage to property.
The temple, however, agreed to the conservation of the parakeets, which are breeding in the hollows in the trees, he said.
The abbot was speaking after attending a meeting of authorities, conservationists and the temple administration to seek a compromise solution to the problem.
The Alexandrine parakeets are rare in Thailand and a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act and Appendix 2 of CITES.
The issue came to light after Saranphat Suwanrat, a biology lecturer at Silpakorn University’s Science faculty, posted on her Facebook page about the presence of the birds at the temple.
She wrote that she visited the site and found about six nests in the trees’ hollows. She was told, however, that the temple planned to pull the trees down shortly after New Year.
“I failed to convince the temple authorities to delay the plan to about April next year, to allow the eggs to hatch, for the parents to feed their chicks and abandon the nests,” she wrote.
The lecturer and Alexandrine parakeet conservationist said that the birds normally mate in September through October, before nesting in softwood or dead trees.
Her posting went viral and received support from many netizens, leading to the meeting with the temple authorities.
Saranphat wrote on her Facebook page on Monday that she appreciates the abbot’s decision to delay the plan for the sake of the parakeets.
Meanwhile, Wattana Sakchuwong, director of Nonthaburi’s National Resources and Environment office, said that they will prevent the trees from falling down by supporting them with steel beams.
Artificial nests will also be constructed for the birds, he said.
