Conservationists are worried about the increasing disappearance of the African hornbill, a species crucial to biodiversity, and are struggling to find ways to protect the birds from further harm. 

What's happening?

Experts have worked together to find a "frightening" cause for African hornbills' disappearance, which turns out to be unregulated international trade, according to Mongabay. The trade has been increasing by 3% each year, with increased demand in online sales of both live and dead birds.

African hornbills' heads are the most in-demand product, followed by their large casques, and then their black and white flight feathers. Casques are the soft, hollow structures above their signature large bills, and are desired and carved into decorative items, similar to ivory. Hornbills are also popular in the trade for traditional spiritual practices in many African cultures.

Asian hornbills have faced similar trade issues, but regulations have been put in place to help limit the threat. Their African cousins aren't nearly as protected, leaving them vulnerable to unchecked hunting and trade that is severely impacting their numbers. About 100 per year have been taken from the wild, and because hornbills are a slower breeding species — raising just one chick per year — it is difficult for them to repopulate quickly after losses.

"They have all the characteristics for extinction," Lucy Kemp, project director at the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, told Mongabay. "This level of offtake is unsustainable."

Why is the African hornbill trade important?

African hornbills are a keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in the ecosystem and have such an impact that their disappearance could cause an entire ecosystem to collapse. In the case of the hornbills, they are vital for dispersing seeds widely and helping with forest regeneration. 

The overall illegal wildlife trade, as well as the legal one, has a severe impact on biodiversity, contributing to an alarming two-thirds depletion of threatened species, per Mongabay.  

It's not just through removal, either — introducing species to a new environment can cause them to become invasive, with the potential to overtake native species and introduce diseases and pests that can further disrupt the ecosystem, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

What's being done about the African hornbill trade?

Experts are calling for African hornbills to be added to the CITES list, a global wildlife trade agreement, to begin regulation. Eight countries in Africa have already submitted a joint proposal that is under consideration by the organization.

Trade regulation isn't the only measure needed to protect the hornbills, however. Conservationists are also asking for hunting regulations in addition to online platforms dealing in the animal trade to take responsibility for what's listed and take down illegal offerings.

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