As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 1 November 2018

Disney Conservation Fund Helps ʻAlalā Birds


By Big Island Now
October 10, 2018, 2:51 PM HST (Updated October 10, 2018, 2:53 PM)
A team from the Biology Department and the Tropical Conservation Biology and Environment Sciences program (TCBES) at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (UHH) is the latest recipient of support from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) for its work to promote successful conservation of the critically endangered ʻAlalā or Hawaiian Crow. The fund has been supporting local efforts around the world aimed at saving wildlife, inspiring action and protecting the planet with more than $75 million distributed to nonprofit organizations since 1995.
The ʻAlalā has great cultural and ecological significance for the people of Hawai‘i and the forests where they live and were once found. An endemic species that was once found in forests throughout Hawai‘i, the ʻAlalā has been extinct in the wild since 2002. Through intensive conservation efforts, 16 ʻAlalā raised in captivity have been released into native forests, representing what conservationists hope will be the start of a self-sustaining population of wild ʻAlalā. Yet, it is unknown whether birds raised in captivity have or can learn the social behaviors needed to live in the wild.
“Establishing a self-sustaining wild population of ʻAlalā will require flexible and innovative management strategies,” said Dr. Kristina Paxton, adjunct assistant professor associated with the Listening Observatory for Hawaiian Ecosystems (LOHE) at UHHS “Thanks to this $50,000 award from the Disney Conservation Fund, we will be able to do intensive research in collaboration with The ʻAlalā Project, a partnership between Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, San Diego Zoo Global, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to find out if captive reared ʻAlalā are developing new vocalizations as they adapt to new situations encountered in the wild. This information will greatly assist in the conservation efforts of ʻAlalā.”


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