September
28, 2018
UW News
For more
than 2 million years, the native forests on the Pacific islands of Guam and
Rota were home to several thousand crows, members of a species found nowhere
else on Earth. But over the last 60 years, the Mariana crow — called the Aga in
the Chamorro language — has completely disappeared from the island of Guam and
rapidly declined on neighboring Rota. Today there are only about 175 Aga left
in the wild.
To ensure
the survival of the species, scientists from the University of Washington and
San Diego Zoo Global are partnering with the Northern Mariana Islands
Department of Lands and Natural Resources and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service on a bold new project that they hope will stabilize the population of
Aga on Rota.
The
population got a new start on Sept. 28, when the first cohort of five
captive-reared Aga were released on public lands on Rota.
“Aga are a critical strand in the ecological
and cultural web that make up the forests of Guam and Rota. Without drastic
measures, we could lose this part of our natural and cultural heritage
forever,” said Anthony Benavente, secretary of the Northern Mariana Islands
Department of Lands and Natural Resources, or CNMI-DLNR.
An
additional five birds will be released into the same area later this year.
Researchers will continue to monitor and support the birds for approximately one
year after the release to ensure their continued success in the wild.
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