For the first time in years, a rare bird is flying free in the forests of Hawaii.
The ʻalalā is a species of crow found only on the Hawaiian Islands, one that holds an important place in Native Hawaiian culture. When it was clear decades ago that the chatty, intelligent birds were heading toward extinction, they were brought into captivity as a last resort. They went extinct in the wild in 2002.
The species has held on thanks to a breeding program, but returning them to the wild has been challenging. A group released on Hawaii's Big Island was preyed upon by hawks. In captivity, the crows have become accustomed to human care, making it harder for them to survive in the wild.
Now, five young ʻalalā have been released in a remote forest of Maui, an environment free of hawks. A team of biologists and wildlife officials is monitoring them with the hope that this time, the crows endure and thrive.
With more endangered species than any other state, Hawaii's plants and animals are increasingly being brought into captivity to stave off extinction, from tiny forest snails to rare honeycreepers. But often there's no clear path to living in the wild again, because the threats from habitat loss, disease and invasive species remain. The hope now is that the reintroduction of the ʻalalā proves to be the exception.
"We need a conservation win in Hawaii, we really do," says Hanna Mounce, manager of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, which helped release the birds. "The fact that this release has actually happened and that these birds, at least for now, are doing extremely well, is so exciting."
Savings bank for biodiversity
Until now, the only place to find Hawaiian crows has been a cluster of buildings at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, run by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, along with a sister site on another island. It's home to a number of species that are extinct in the wild or whose numbers are rapidly dwindling.
"They have quite an extensive language," says Jennifer Pribble, senior research coordinator at the center, as she walks up to the ʻalalā enclosures. The crows' loud calls echo between the buildings in a squawky call and response.
Like much of Hawaii's wildlife, Hawaiian crows began to dwindle after the arrival of Western settlers. Their native forest habitat was converted to agriculture and grazing. Mosquitoes, brought in on ships, carried avian malaria. Introduced species, like rats and mongoose, preyed on native birds and their eggs. It's why dozens of Hawaii's birds have gone extinct.
To avoid that fate, many remaining species have been brought into captivity, living in what are essentially isolated savings banks for biodiversity.
"There's facilities for insects," Pribble says. "There's facilities for plants. Everything that is native to Hawaii is threatened."
Hawaiian crows were brought into captivity beginning in the 1970s. Over time, the population has grown to more than 100.
"We've built the breeding program up from about eight founders," Pribble says. "So all the ʻalalā that exist in the world have eight great, great, great, great, great-grandparents basically."
Releasing them back into the wild has hit some speed bumps. The crows were traditionally found on Hawaii's Big Island, where wildlife officials tried to release them in 2016. Their native predator, a hawk known as the 'io, lives there as well, so the birds received some predator training to prepare them. Still, the crows' numbers fell, and the remaining birds were recaptured.
Now, the birds are being released on Maui, where no hawks are found. Pribble says they're starting with younger crows that are about a year old, which are more adaptable.
"They haven't learned lots of bad behaviors," she says. "They're inquisitive. They're still learning things."
Hawaiian crows take flight
On the day of their release, the crows received a traditional Hawaiian cultural send-off before beginning the journey to their new forest home by helicopter.
"We need them to be around to thrive," said Kaponoʻai Molaitau of Nā Hanona Kūlike ʻO Piʻilani, a cultural group at the release. "If they thrive, we thrive."
In the forest, the birds have a netted enclosure they can retreat to if needed, and over time they have ventured farther and farther into the forest.
"It's like this teenage gang and it's really funny to see how they interact with each other," says Mounce. "They help each other and hand each other food."
Still, becoming wild again will be a process for the birds. They're still being carefully monitored and are receiving supplemental food from a field team of biologists. While the caretakers in captivity tried to minimize human contact, the crows aren't used to foraging for food on their own yet.
Mounce says the challenge is there's no playbook for returning animals to the wild after generations in captivity. Her team is figuring out what the crows need as they go. For some other species in captivity, there's still no way to release them, because the threats from diseases like avian malaria are still too great. She says it's why every small step forward is important for conservation in Hawaii.
"It's extremely hopeful," Mounce says. "I don't want to say they're wild now and everything is done, but just the fact that we have gotten to this point is extremely promising and is a big success."
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