Kulani, from the October 2018 release. photo courtesy of Lainie Berry, Division of Forestry and Wildlife
76 birds remained in Hualālai, Hōnaunau, Honomalino, and the Ka‘ū Forest Reserve. Between 1991 and 1992, the crow population was down to 13. After the failed reintroduction efforts between 1993 and 1999, the last pair of wild ‘alalā were observed in South Kona in 2002. Luckily, the crows had already been brought into conservation breeding facilities beginning in the 1970s, and while the wild population finally ceased to exist, the species held on in captivity. Today, thanks to a half-century-long conservation effort by people of all different associations, the forests are alive again with the crows’ cries. Kristina Paxton, an adjunct assistant professor within UH-Hiloʻs Department of Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science, researches ‘alalā vocalizations by recording the sounds of the 2017 and 2018 cohorts in the forest and comparing them to recordings of wild crow populations collected by fieldworkers in the 1990s. As the once-captive birds achieve new vocalizations and behaviors similar to those of their now-extinct wild counterparts, Kristina says, this signifies the crows are successfully learning and adapting to their environment. “It would help to show that they are becoming wild, you could say,” she says. For someone who hears ‘alalā cries day in and day out, Kristina has no trouble describing their racket. “Itʻs a screech,” she says. “There’s no chance of misidentifying the ‘alalā. They are loud! It’s so distinct in the forest—there’s no other forest bird that makes vocalizations like that. As soon as you step out of the truck, you know there are ‘alalā out there. For me, it brings a huge smile to my face. It has completely changed the soundscape.” ■
KeOlaMagazine.com | January - February 2019
For more information: dlnr.hawaii.gov/alalaproject/
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