Native seabird colony threatened by feral cats
By Angela Cifone
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KAUAʻI, Hawai’i (KITV) — These beautiful birds are known as the wedge-tailed shearwater.
Andre Raine, the Science Director of Archipelago Research and Conservation, said, “These are Hawaiian birds, in some cases, architects of the islands.”
“They’ve been here longer than we have. They provide nutrients to our ocean, near shore environment that increases our coral reef growth,” said Afsheen Siddiqi, wildlife biologist with the Department of Land and National Resources
But these birds are in danger, facing threats from predators across Hawai’i.
“When humans came along, we’ve introduced a whole range of mammals, and a lot of these prey on our native seabirds,” said Raine.
That’s exactly what’s happening here.
More than 125 birds were found dead At Kauaʻi’s Ninini Point — the third mass kill in just two weeks.
Raine said, “Yeah, I mean mass slaughter. There’s still quite a few chicks there which are extremely vulnerable. We found cat feces with Shearwater feathers in them, so pretty clear what the culprit was.”
The culprit… feral cats.
Raine continued, “Kauai has a huge feral cat problem. It’s absolutely massive, So we have cats from the shoreline all the way up to our interior to our highest mountains, and there’s a lot of them”
Other predators like dogs, rats and pigs also threaten seabirds.
And because burrows are so close together, one predator can cause devastating damage quickly.
So, how do we stop this?
“And we have a lot of ability to help protect them. Everyone can have a role in that. I mean, just simply keeping your pets inside, that’s a huge benefit to to our native species,” Siddiqi said.
For the Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Hawaiʻi is their only home.
“If they disappear from here, they disappear from the planet. This is their place, and we have a kuleana to protect them,” said Raine.
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