Evidence still points to loose
dogs
More than 30 Wedge-tailed
shearwaters were discovered dead near Lawai on Sunday. Loose dogs are still
being blamed for the carnage.
Posted: Wednesday, May 25,
2016 1:15 am | Updated: 9:08 am, Wed May 25, 2016.
Jessica Else - The Garden Island
LAWAI — The Sunday discovery of
34 dead wedge-tailed shearwater birds near Kauai’s Spouting Horn remains under
investigation, but officers with Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural
Resources still believe dogs are behind the killings.
“The birds weren’t eaten, cats
eat them. Rather, they were bitten and shaken, which leaves broken bones, wings
and large puncture holes,” said Sheri Mann, Kauai Department of Forestry and
Wildlife district manager.
Mann explained wildlife
biologists have seen this pattern before and it’s almost certain dogs are the
culprit, but more answers will come from a necropsy of the birds.
The birds were found mostly near
the parking lot end of Lawai Road. The carcasses have been taken to the
Department of Fish and Wildlife baseyard in Lihue for necropsy.
DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward
said there’s no word yet on the necropsy, and DLNR staff members have
undertaken a dog trapping effort, with the permission of private landowners in
the area.
“The dogs are just acting on
instinct,” Mann said.
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