Raptor Rehabilitation Program Closed After Two Successful Decades
Our Kotok Island program, a conservation effort that successfully reintroduced the Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus), has officially come to a close. The program couldn’t keep up with all the commercial development in the area.
Launched in the early 2000s, the program provided a safe haven where hundreds of rescued raptors relearned how to hunt in specially designed enclosures set between the forest and the sea.
Birds that successfully regained their survival skills were released into the wild, often fitted with GPS trackers to monitor their progress. Those too injured to survive independently were given lifelong care in naturalistic enclosures on the island.
The project was established to combat the dramatic decline of the Brahminy kite population in the Thousand Islands, where the species had been declared locally extinct in 2004 following rampant illegal hunting and the illegal bird trade. Thanks to the Kotok Island program, a new population of rehabilitated kites was reintroduced, ensuring that the species did not disappear entirely from the greater Jakarta region.
In recognition of its impact, the program received a formal declaration of appreciation in 2014 from President Joko Widodo.
The initiative extended beyond birds alone. At nearby Kotok Besar, conservationists also worked to protect coral reefs, restoring an ecosystem that provided a steady supply of fish—vital to the survival of the Brahminy kite. The program adhered closely to IUCN reintroduction guidelines and engaged local communities through employment opportunities and public awareness campaigns, ensuring long-term support for wildlife conservation.
The remaining 41 birds have been moved to the Sumatra Wildlife Center for further rehabilitation.
While the closure of the Kotok Island facility marks the end of an era, its legacy lives on in the skies above the Thousand Islands, where rehabilitated Brahminy kites continue to soar. Conservationists emphasize that the knowledge gained and the population restored remain a lasting achievement for Indonesia’s wildlife protection efforts.
