Endangered ‘Akikiki Birds to Travel from Kaua’i to Maui to Be part of Breeding System

A stunning fall in figures of ‘akikiki, an endangered forest hen, was recorded this calendar year at Halehaha, a discipline site in the central mountains of Kaua’i. Biologists checking the place observed that the inhabitants of a lot more than 70 birds recorded in 2015 had declined to just five in 2021.  

The new information, mixed with information from other subject web pages on Kauaʻi where ʻakikiki numbers show up additional steady, counsel that Halehaha is currently unsafe as a habitat for ‘akikiki.  

Now, the Kaua’i Forest Hen Recovery Venture (a partnership with DLNR and the University of Hawai’i Pacific Cooperative Research Unit) is trying to find to secure the remaining birds at Halehaha by transferring them quickly to a breeding application on Maui. 

The proposed rescue mission, unanimously authorised these days by the Board of Land and All-natural Means, highlights a hard challenge in avian conservation: maintaining the existence of native species when the ecosystems those species rely on have degraded.  

In an suitable planet, the most effective locale for ‘akikiki to thrive would be in their property forests. At Halehaha, that as soon as-perfect forest is presently out of balance due to the proliferation of invasive species. Surveysat the internet site have shown a the latest increase in invasive mosquitoes that have avian malaria and other disorders. Transferring the remaining birds is a choice of very last vacation resort, and very likely the only way to continue to keep the population from death. 

The interisland transfer of Halehaha’s remaining ‘akikiki is meant to be a momentary reprieve although biologists operate to restore the birds’ forest habitat. Cultural practitioners are coordinating with project staff members to give protocol for each the birds’ departure from Kauaʻi and their arrival on Maui at a facility managed by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.  

The transported ‘akikiki will be in very good corporation on Maui, wherever the breeding plan is currently house to about 40 ‘akikiki, hatched from eggs collected all through previous rescue operations.  

The Kauaʻi Forest Fowl Recovery Task has formerly labored with Ka ʻImi Naʻauao O Hawaiʻi Nei Institute, a Kauaʻi-centered team that has provided blessings for the project’s industry operate. Dawn Kawahara, the institute’s President, commented that the program “seems to be aligned with what we know and marketing native Hawaiian thought concerning guarding and preserving all everyday living.” 

As experts at the Maui breeding facility treatment for the rescued birds, biologists on Kauaʻi will continue to observe ʻakikiki remaining in the wild at field sites other than Halehaha. They are also collaborating with professionals statewide on developing remedies to restore Hawaiʻi’s native forests as a property for native birds.  

The Birds Not Mosquitoes partnership, which includes DLNR and Kauaʻi Forest Chook Recovery Task as members, is at this time targeted on the potential for a bacterium to act as a mosquito birth handle. The resource, also regarded as Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT), is one of numerous that biologists could use to cut down the impacts of invasive species. With their forests in far better issue, specialists foresee a long run when Halehaha’s ʻakikiki complete their interisland remain and return house.