FWS Tries Hail-Mary Pass With Last Three Members Of Hawaiian Bird Species

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - It's a melancholy love story: one guy, two gals, all three living apart, childless, getting on in years. Every well-meaning attempt to bring them together has failed. And now, yet another try.

Actually, it's a true story - and a sad one - about the last members of a rare Hawaiian species of bird known as Po'ouli. Once numbering in the hundreds, the three known survivors are clinging to life in a rain-soaked mountain forest on the island of Maui.

On Tuesday, agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife will set out in a helicopter - carrying nets, video cameras, food and medical supplies - on a 10-day mission to preserve this dying species.

They'll take along an "avian intensive care unit," with heat, lights, oxygen, drugs, anesthetics and surgical capabilities in case one of the birds is hurt or falls ill during the expedition. If necessary, a helicopter would evacuate an injured bird. The government matchmakers hope to capture the male and both females, take them back to a bird conservation center on the island, put them together and see if they will mate.

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About 5 to 6 inches long, the Po'ouli (the name means "black face" in Hawaiian), were discovered by campers in 1973. Even native Hawaiians had never seen them. Their present home is a mile-high, 7,500-acre nature preserve where they're protected from predatory rats and wild pigs. "It's very remote, rugged and wet. It gets more than 300 inches of rain a year," VanderWerf said. "You have to get in by helicopter."

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[Leilani]

1. I love Hawaii for the environmental awareness!

Out here, the importance of our environment is so much a part of our lives.

Maybe because of the natural beauty, we appreciate these things more; perhaps it is the Hawaiian culture & traditions are a part of our lives, whether we were born here, or adopted this wonderful place as home.

[opihimoimoi]

2. A sadness every time a species goes Extinct. That word, its so final.

Just cause we number 7 billion on this planet don't mean we cannot follow the Po'ouli

[blindpig]

3. tricky buisness

with a founder population this small and delicate I wouldn't make book on this project. It's been done(Mauritis Kestral)but that was a perfect storm scenario(the right field worker, suitable species, lots of luck). It's probably goodbye.