The Great Indian Hornbills - The Farmers of the Forest

The Great Indian Hornbill is such an important creature in the ecosystem. It can live for up to 70 years, and everything it does in its life has a purpose.

Great Indian Hornbills have a strong sense of family. Once they choose a partner, they'll stay with that partner for the rest of their lives. Wherever one hornbill goes, the other follows. They always stay together, and if you see one, you're sure to see its mate not far away.

They also rely on each other. Once the female finds a spot to lay her eggs, she goes inside a tree, and the male seals up the nest with mud, leaving only a small hole. This helps hide the nest from predators. Every day, the male brings 200 to 300 fruits to the nest and feeds them to his mate. This is why if one hornbill dies, an entire family is at risk.

Female Great Indian Hornbill perched on a branch in Dandeli, India.

The hornbills make huge sacrifices for their family. The female cuts herself off from the world, spending five months inside the tree for her eggs. When she comes out, she's so weak she can't even fly. The male makes huge sacrifices too. He has to eat enough fruit for himself and collect hundreds of extra fruits for his mate every single day. On top of that, he has to avoid predators because the lives of his entire family are on his shoulders.

The Great Indian Hornbills are called the farmers of the forest. Every day, one hornbill can eat about 10,000 fruits, which means it can plant 10,000 trees. In its lifetime, one hornbill could help restore entire forests. There's a saying that one Great Indian Hornbill is worth 10,000 trees, and that saying is true. Hornbills are among the most effective seed dispersers in tropical forests. They swallow smaller seeds whole, which are later deposited in droppings far from the parent tree. They also regurgitate larger, intact seeds after eating the surrounding fruit pulp.If one dies, millions of trees won't be planted, and forests won't be restored. The Great Indian Hornbill is nature's way of making sure the forests are sustained, and that's why we have to save them.

A pair of Malabar Pied Hornbills - Partners for Life!

We can learn so much from these hornbills. They are selfless and make sacrifices for others. They have a sense of companionship for 50 or more years and will always stay with their mate. The entire forest depends on them. Just as farmers work hard in the fields for the community, the hornbills work hard for the forest. They are truly the farmers of the forest.

Before this summer, when I came to Dandeli, India, to see the hornbills, I just thought they were beautiful. I had no idea they had so many responsibilities. The hornbills are here for the forest now, and they always will be. Next time you happen to see one, whisper, “Thank you!”

Magnificent Great Indian Hornbill. Picture Courtesy: My mom, Suchita Rao Gunari.