Campaign seeks help to stamp out Avian malaria

HANAPEPE — To help battle the spread of avian malaria in the native forest birds of the Garden Island, the Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project launched a crowdfunding campaign. They are seeking to raise $50,000 to support field teams that monitor the bizds, and seek out and eradicate local mosquito populations.

The mosquito-borne introduced disease is wreaking havoc among rare Hawaiian honeycreepers on Kauai, according to the state.

The “Save Kauai’s Spectacular Birds from Avian Malaria” campaign is nicknamed “Save a Bird, Swat a Skeeter.”

The money raised will support the efforts of KFBRP and its partners to research and combat deadly mosquito-borne avian malaria in Kauai’s forest birds by tracking infected birds and reducing mosquito populations.

Hawaiian honeycreepers are highly susceptible to malaria as they evolved without the disease; in some species, 90 percent of individuals die after being bitten once by a mosquito carrying avian malaria, according to a press release.

Three endangered forest bird species on Kauai are at risk of imminent extinction.

The Akikiki and the Puaiohi now number fewer than 500 birds; the Akeke‘e are also highly vulnerable, with fewer than 1,000 individuals left.

KFBRP and its partners plan to halt these trends by stamping out avian malaria, the single biggest threat to these species.

“To combat avian malaria, we need to know how many birds are infected and where the mosquito populations are breeding,” said KFBRP Project Coordinator, Dr. Lisa “Cali” Crampton. “That requires sending our teams into remote and challenging mountainous areas to monitor birds, as well as locating and eliminating mosquitoes and their larvae as we encounter them.”

The campaign runs until May 31.

“The funds donated will help us in our fight to save some of our rarest and most charismatic forest birds on Kauai,” Crampton said. “And we must succeed.”

To donate: bit.ly/2FCtO3j