From “Ibis”

In Trinidad, three men appeared

  in court on August 15, 2017,

   charged with having bird

  parts in their possession.

They were caught

  near the Caroni Bird Sanctuary

   by a team of game wardens.

  The wardens happened to be

“conducting surveillance” in

  the area when they spotted the

   men with the dead birds.

  The men attempted to escape

in a boat.

  They were caught.

   They were granted bail. The case

  was adjourned.

Drones have been

  brought in to protect

   the birds. The Ministry of

  Agriculture has conducted

test flights in Trinidad. Here

  is the DNA of the scarlet ibis

   rendered as a barcode:

 

The desire to eat the scarlet ibis

  has long haunted man. Fat ibises

   are preferred over lean egrets.

  Even the indigenous peoples

of America prized the

  bird flesh. They made

   special expeditions for

  their eggs. In fact, in their

quest to eat ibis meat, the

  first peoples accidentally

   discovered the islands of

  the Caribbean. The birds made

new land. The natives carried

  baskets with eggs and emaciated

   fledglings. They cooked the

  eggs even if addled or in an

advanced state of decay,

  according to one writer. So

   that birds of all stages of

  life floated in a sky of yelks.

Soup, richly spiced with

  death and Spanish pepper.

   Yet the scarlet ibis, if

  allowed a return to its former

glory, can bring about the

  annihilation of all mammals.

   Among its plumage, the bird

  harbors pathogenic bacteria,

no match for human medicine.

  Man, for good reason, is

   their prime predator.