Nene thriving

LIHU‘E — The Hawaiian Goose, also known as the nene and Hawai‘i’s state bird, became federally-protected when the bird population plummeted statewide in past years.

Today, Kaua‘i is leading the state in the recovery of the endangered bird species.

More than 600 nene birds live and thrive on the island, accounting for a colony that is larger than any other in the state, according to Thomas Kai‘akapu, a wildlife biologist and district wildlife manager with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources district office on Kaua‘i.

Nene birds readily fly over East Kauai, and scores bray and honk as they move about pastures and around lagoons at the Kauai Marriott Hotel, the island’s first and largest mega-resort.

“The nene on Kaua‘i is probably Kaua‘i’s best success story of endangered species in the entire state,” Kai‘akapu said.

The strong recovery of the nene bird on Kaua‘i, accomplished over the last 40 years, has occurred primarily because of the absence of the mongoose.

It is found on every inhabited island in Hawai‘i except for Kaua‘i, Kai‘akapu said.

In the late 1800s, owners of plantation companies in Hawai‘i were faced with the vexing problem of trying to rid canefields of foraging armies of rats.

The owners decided the use of mongooses provided the best solution, and in 1883, four male and five female mongooses from Calcutta, India were brought to Hawai‘i, Kai‘akapu said.

Shipments went to every island in the late 1800s, but the one intended for Kaua‘i — one pair and possibly a second pair of mongooses- were reportedly dumped overboard between O‘ahu and Kaua‘i.

While sailors aboard a commercial vessel played with the mongooses, one of the sailors got bitten, and he kicked “the cages overboard,” Kai‘akapu said is the story often told.

In recent years, mongooses have been reportedly seen here, but none of the sightings have been confirmed, he said.

The nene bird population began to jump after the early 1990s, when Tom Telfer, then a wildlife biologist with the DLNR Forestry and Wildlife Division on Kaua‘i, helped establish an agency program through which sexually-mature nene birds were released in Kilauea, Hanalei and Na Pali.

The birds were raised at two DLNR “captive and breeding” facilities on the Big Island and Maui. The facilities are operated by the Zoological Society of San Diego under a contract with DLNR.

Over the 1990s, nene birds were brought to Kaua‘i, and the first “release” of the birds was done at the Kilauea Lighthouse wildlife refuge, then at the Hanalei refuge, both of which are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The last release of the birds was done along the Na Pali Coast in 2000.

No other birds were released have been released on Kaua‘i since then because of the success of the program so far , Kai‘akapu said.

At the same time, DLNR officials decided to transport more nene birds to other islands to try to strengthen the nene bird populations elsewhere in Hawai‘i, Kai‘akapu said.

The “bird release areas” on Kaua‘i were selected primarily because they provided a protected environment for the recovery of the nenes, Kai‘akapu said.

The captive birds were marked and were “pre-measured” before they were brought to Kaua‘i for release into the wilderness, Kai‘akapu said.

Over time, nene birds multiplied, and they can now be found in all parts of Kaua‘i, from the coastal areas to the mountains in Koke‘e, Kai‘akapu said.

The releasing of the captive birds from the selected sites significantly helped increase the population of the endangered species on Kaua‘i, he said.

“Hopefully, over time, these birds will multiply. You want that intermixing between one population (birds from one site) to the next to increase the genetic strength of the birds,” Kai‘akapu said.

The healthy state of the nene bird population could not have been achieved had Telfer not initiated the “bird release” project on Kaua‘i, Kai‘akapu said.

Telfer worked 37 years as a wildlife biologist with the DLNR Forestry and Wildlife Division on Kaua‘i. He retired last year as the district wildlife manager of the Kaua‘i division.

“He was very instrumental in bringing about the success of the program,” said Kai‘akapu, the current district wildlife manager for the DLNR’s Forestry and Wildlife Division office on Kaua‘i and in his 13th year with the division.

The nene birds are indigenous to Hawai‘i and were never wingless. Their origins are tied to the Big Island, for reasons unknown, Kai‘akapu said.

The bird population declined partly because of egg-stealing mongooses, according to a Web site.

But it was hunting and wild animals that all but destroyed the species until they were protected by law, and government recovery programs got under way, the Web site said. The bird was named the state bird in 1957.

The first nenes were not seen in modern times on Kaua‘i until the early 1970s. Extinct Hawai‘i bird expert Storrs Olsen has found remains of nene from ancient times on Kaua‘i.

At the time, John T. Waterhouse kept two dozen nene birds in pens at the Kipukai Ranch in Kipu. The birds may have come to him from the Big Island, Kai‘akapu surmised.

Waterhouse, an executive and board member with Alexander & Baldwin, spent his weekends at the ranch, and he built it up from scraggly pasture to a thriving home, according to a Web site on the Kaua‘i pioneer.

“When he passed away (in 1984 in his early 80s), the farmers and ranch hands began releasing the nene birds because they didn’t know what to do with them,” Kai‘akapu said.

It is likely those birds and their offsprings contributed to the surging population increase of nene birds on Kaua‘i today, he said. Many very likely linked up with the birds released at the three sites on Kaua‘i, Kai‘akapu said.

The survival of the species has been ensured by a monitoring and banding program implemented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DLNR, Ka‘iakapu said.

White-colored bands, as part of a DLNR tracking program for the captive birds, were attached to the legs of the birds that were bred in captivity and let loose into Kaua‘i’s jungles.

Related to the bird release program, metal bands also were attached to the legs of birds as part of a similar tracking program by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition to tagging birds with white bands, orange-colored bands have been attached to the birds, for quick identification, Kai‘akapu said.

Orange bands are put on the right legs of male birds and bands are put on the left legs of females, he said.

The bands are attached during molting season, between January and March, when the birds are flightless, Kai‘akapu said.

He said it is nearly impossible to put bands on all of the nene birds because “they may be hard to find in the wilderness.”

The DLNR’s tracking and banding program remains effective today because of the work and dedication of Alan Silva, a wildlife technician with DLNR, Kai‘akapu said.

“I give him a lot of credit for doing legwork, the groundwork and monitoring of the nene population,” Kai‘akapu said. “He does most of the banding. I help when I can.”

In general, the state bird-banding projects records the bird’s age, sex and measurements.

The federal project that also involves banding the birds provides data on the spices for research.

Both the federal and state banding programs are intended to help perpetuate the species, Kai‘akapu said.

The nene birds are strong by nature, as evidence by their ability to live just about anywhere on Kaua‘i, he said.

But they are vulnerable to avian malaria or other diseases carried by introduced bird species like sparrows and pigeons, he said.

But it is not known if any nene birds on Kaua‘i have gotten sick and have died, Kai‘akapu said.

The nene bird population is likely to grow because of the availability of more pasture land and because more intense urbanization of agricultural lands has yet to start, Kai‘akapu said.

“I foresee in the next decade or so the nene population will continue to grow,” he said. “Our biggest hope is that they don’t become a nuisance.”