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Resources on the Hawaiian crow, by Michael Westerfield Do you have any current information about the 'alala you would like to share? Please contact: crows.net@gmail.com 
POSTED: 7/6/2010. 'Alala population up to 78 birds as of July 2, 2010. 7/10/2010. See an 'alala hatch. Read the latest update from the 'alala captive breeding program. A video of an 'alala hatching has been added to this blog. There is a link to it in the text of the blog. It may take a very long time to download, but please be patient. Very few persons have ever witnessed this event.POSTED: 5/17/2010. ‘Alala Chicks are Hatching. As of May 12, 2010, three new ‘alala chicks had hatched successfully, bringing the total number of (known) ‘alala in the world to 70. There are other eggs in the incubator and other females that might still lay this year. Read about the latest successes in the ‘alala restoration program at: POSTED: 2/28/2010. The final version of the “Revised Recovery Plan for the ‘Alala (Corvus hawaiiensis), completed in 2009, is now available online. It appears to have incorporated a number of improved strategies for re-establishing the ‘alala in the wild. The plan may be accessed at: Revised Recovery Plan for the ‘Alala The link below will take you to a page with some nice 'alala photographs and a wonderful sampling of 'alala vocalizations and another link to the "Recovery Plan". POSTED: 1/18/2010 Current status of the ‘alala: The news is good! The size of the population of the Hawaiian crow, the ‘alala, is steadily growing. The official word is: “Currently the 'Alala population stands at 67 individuals. 52 are at the Kilauea Bird Conservation Center on Hawai'i, 14 at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, and one at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. In 2009 there were 9 chicks hatched, of which 8 survived. There was one adult mortality in 2009. Captive facility construction is keeping pace with flock growth.” POSTED 8/9/2009 Kinohi, the 19 year old male ‘alala who was sent to the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park in an effort to ensure that his genetic material was not lost in the advent of his death, has been having an interesting time finding a safe permanent home there. Click on the link below to read more of his story on the San Diego Zoo blog. Training an "Alala for an Important Job.
POSTED 6/26/2009 Recently one 'alala was sent from its home at the Maui Bird Conservation Center to the San Diego Wild Animal Park where extraordinary efforts will be made to make certain that the 19 year old bird's genes are not lost should it die without breeding. Click on the link below to read the story. 'Alala Takes Extraordinary Flight
POSTED: 5/5/2009 Reports of $14,000,000 allocation for 'Alala in error! We have just received word from the 'Alala Recovery Team that there actually have not been any additional funds allocated for the 'alala. According to team leader Jeff Burgett, Ph.D., "The AP story was based on a misreading of our press release. $14M is an estimate of what it would cost to implement the recovery plan for the next 5 years. We have to do that for every recovery plan, but it unfortunately doesn't make the money magically appear!" The link below will take you to the website of the Recovery Plan itself, as well as a page with some nice 'alala photographs and a wonderful sampling of 'alala vocalizations. ****************************** POSTED: 4/28/2009 (UPDATED 4/29/2009) Since the initial announcement of the $14,000,000 funding allocation for the preservation of the 'alala there has been very little further news on this subject from any source. It does appear that the funds allocated are to implement the steps presented in the "Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the 'Alala Corvus hawaiiensis" which was published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October 2003. This was a revision of the original recovery plan approved October 28, 1982. At the time the Revised Plan was published the entire population of Hawaiian crows was reported as 40 individuals, all in captivity at the Keauhou and Maui Bird Conversation Centers on Hawaii and Maui respectively. The 'alala was believed to be extinct in the wild. During the period between the two versions of the Plan, 1982 - 2003, heroic efforts were made by many individuals and organizations to breed 'alala in captivity and to release them into suitable habitat where 'alala currently or histiorically occurred. Due to a remarkable variety of circumstances, these efforts failed badly, resulting in the death of a number of birds and the loss of a significant portion of the existing gene pool. The remaining "wild" birds were all captured and placed in aviaries at the bird conservation centers, where captive breeding and hand rearing of young were carried out. Unfortunately, due persumably to the very small gene pool as well as other unknown circumstances, the production of viable eggs and offspring was very low. During the period from 2003 to the present, it appears that, despite the professional and sophisticated efforts of the San Diego Zoological Society, the total population of 'alala has only increased from 40 to 60. In response to a question from a reader of the Hawaii Bird Project blog, Alan Lieberman, who is Director of the 'Alala Recovery Project for the San Diego Zoological Society, posted information about the uses of the grant funds in the comment section of the project's blog. You can reach this by clicking on the link below. Scroll down for the comments. Alan Lieberman's comments on the 'alala recovery project. ***************************** NEWS FLASH: 4/19/09: $14,000,000 has been allocated by the federal government for the preservation of the Hawaiian crow. Currently the news available is sketchy and appears inaccurate, but it appears that 14 million in economic recovery money has been allocated to implement the "Revised Recovery Plan" for the 'alala, which includes both captive breeding programs and habitat acquisition and improvement for the eventual return of some captive bred 'alala to the wild. Presumably, the San Diego Zoological Society will manage the program. More news as it appears. **************************************** Last year, when I was on the Big Island of Hawaii, I made an effort to find out the status of the critically endangered Hawaiian crow, Corvus hawaiiensis. The story of my hunt for information “on the ground” is given on the “Featured Reports” page. On my return to the Mainland, I made a thorough internet search on the subject and was rather amazed at the scarcity of information posted both on the Hawaiian crow and the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center at which the majority of ‘alala are kept. As far as I could determine, there are currently somewhere between 57 and 65 Hawaiian crows in existence, all in captivity. In 2006, 57 ‘alala were reported. In 2007 some additional birds were hatched and survived, but I have been unable to find the actual number. In 2008, six Hawaiian crows hatched, of which four survived. (NOTE: an entry in the San Diego Zoological Society's Blog dated April 21, 2009, gives the number of living 'alala as 60. The numbers don't add up correctly unless there were some fatalities.)I believe that the majority, if not all of the ‘alala, are at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center on the Hilo side of the Big Island of Hawaii and that a smaller number are at the Olinda Bird Conservation Center on Maui, though I have no recent confirmation of this. I also believe that all the birds currently alive have been born in captivity. There is very little chance that someone not associated with the Bird Conservation Program could manage to get even a glimpse of a Hawaiian crow until such time as a population is reestablished in the wild or the captive population grows large and healthy enough to allow a few members to be displayed publicly. Below you will find links to the various sites or publications where information on the Hawaiian crow can be found. The Birdlife Fact Sheet on the Hawaiian crow. The blog for the San Diego Zoo “Hawaii Bird Project”. Two short videos of the Hawaiian crow in an aviary, with sound. Three nice photos of the 'alala and a bit of info from a lucky visitor to the Keauhou facility. The Scientific Bases for the Preservation of the Hawaiian Crow The Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the ‘Alala (October 2003).The entire document. This web page will be added to on a continuing basis. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed. Please send email to info@crows.net. Include the word "democracy" in the subject line to distinguish your message from "spam". |
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