Ardin Mokodompit, From Foe to Volunteer

If you shoot birds, you will not be able to see them again in nature in the future. However, if you shoot them with a camera, you and many other people can continue to enjoy their value and beauty.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Ardin Mokodompit

This perspective changed the way of life of Ardin Mokodompit, 28, from a hunter to a bird protector.

Ardin showed his photos of hornbills (Bucerotidae sp) on his smart phone on Monday (18/7/2022) in his house in West Tulabolo village, East Suwawa district, Bone Bolango regency, Gorontalo. There were also pictures of maleo birds (Macrocephalon maleo).

The various shots were recorded by his phone camera, bought with his income from working as a bird-watching tour guide. Some of his photos have even earned appreciation at the Gorontalo Creative Economy and Tourist Destination Photo Contest. The certificate of appreciation decorates his cement-floored sitting room.

If he were still hunting, Ardin might not be able to watch the birds in the forest. Before 2015, he was still known as a skilled bird hunter. He knew the locations and time of appearance of wild pigeons, hornbills and maleo. Such a skill was rarely found. “In the past, bird hunting was like child’s play,” said the resident of West Tulabolo village.

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The village is in the Tulabolo-Pinogu Resort, Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. Trees are growing luxuriantly in the area some 30 kilometers from Gorontalo. The route leading to the village is undulating. Residents have to cross a suspension bridge, passable only by motorcycles or three-wheel vehicles. When the bridge collapsed in 2020, they were forced to cross Bone River.

Like his friends, Ardin, as an elementary school student, used to hunt birds. With a slingshot, he aimed at wild pigeons. From junior high school years, he started hunting with an air rifle. “An air rifle is like a motorcycle and a slingshot like a bicycle, so it was easier for me to hunt,” said Ardin.

Almost every day he was chasing birds, ranging from madu srigandi (Nectarinia jugularis), madu kelapa (Anthreptes malacensis), to hornbills. “At the time, the birds here were not trading, but for consumption,” he said.

His bird-shooting practice began to shift when his cousin invited him to join the Forest Ranger Partners Community (MMP) after finishing senior high school. “I was just asking him about job vacancies. He mentioned the MMP. It turned out that when I joined, he quit to become head of his hamlet,” he shared.

But it’s important to keep silent in bird watching. Any noise will make the birds fly.

As MMP members, Ardin and other peers were tasked with guarding the forest against loggers and animal hunters in the area of around 14,000 hectares. His acquaintance with security officers led to a change in his original outlook from that of a bird hunter to that of a wildlife protector.

Ardin was increasingly determined to protect the winged vertebrates when he was assigned as receptionist at the Hungayono Nature Tourism spot in 2016. There, visitors could find maleo, observe a limestone cave and enjoy bird watching.

Owing to his skill in identifying bird locations, Ardin was asked to be a tour guide. At first, he hesitated because he did not speak English. “But it’s important to keep silent in bird watching. Any noise will make the birds fly. Further explanation follows in the camp,” he said.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Ardin Mokodompit

He once asked to be taught English by a guide from Gorontalo city who brought tourists to Tulabolo. But he was turned down. “So, I communicated in the local language here [Suwawa]. The Gorontalo was confused. Finally, I was trained in English, ha-ha-ha,” he said.

Now, along with the Tulabolo-Pinogu Resort and the Indonesian Bird Organization, Ardin has designated bird-watching spots at 100-meter intervals covering 3.2 km from Tulabolo to Hungayono. “From 2018 up to the present, 76 bird species have been noticed. Their sounds and traces are there,” he said.

These spots facilitate Ardin as a bird-watching tour guide. He once accompanied a foreign citizen who wanted to see a woodpecker (Scolopax celebensis) resembling the Woody Woodpecker cartoon that is said to be extinct in the American continent.

“After only several hundred meters’ walk, we could already find a woodpecker. He was very pleased and gave me money,” he said. In fact, he had previously received about Rp 200,000 (US$13.44) and admission worth Rp 160,000. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, he could guide five tourists per month.

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“I think if we shoot them today, tomorrow [the birds] will be no more. But as a guide, their pictures are taken; they will still be there tomorrow,” said Ardin. He also promised not to consume birds any more.

“Bird hunting also has its legal consequences,” added Ardin, who later formed a tourism group in Tulabolo Induk.

Lately, motorcycle-taxi business has reached bird-watching locations. Several houses of residents have also provided lodgings. Residents’ food stalls are emerging. While originally there was only Ardin working as a guide, now five other residents are actively guiding tourists.

Illegal hunters

Ardin’s efforts have not always been smooth, though. Not infrequently, he encountered illegal hunters. He once found a resident capturing macaque (Macaca nigrescens) because it was seen as a plant pest. Actually, the animal endemic to Sulawesi is protected and in a vulnerable condition.

He asked that the primate in East Tulabolo be released. “He [the macaque hunter] threatened me. He said his cousin was also a forest ranger. I said even if you have a cousin, the rule must be upheld. Unless it is released, you will be detained. At last, it was set free.”

The next day a joint team combed the area. Fortunately, the resident had released his hunted primate. “Finally, he was back to support the national park and quit hunting. In our terms, it’s a reversal from foe to volunteer,” he concluded.

His persistence in safeguarding birds and other wildlife was also appreciated by the Environment Affairs and Forestry Ministry. In 2021, Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation Wiratno presented a citation of appreciation for Ardin’s switch from a hunter to a tourism motivator in his village.

Ardin Mokodompit

Born: 4 January 1994

Education: State Senior High School 1, East Suwawa

Wife: Indriani Isaleh

Children: two

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.