8 nene killed at Kilauea

Over the last five weeks, dogs have wreaked havoc on the nene, or Hawaiian goose, among the most endangered geese in the world, at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge and at the nearby Sea-cliff Plantation subdivision.

During the weekend of March 11, eight nene, including three adult female birds, were killed by a dog or dogs on the Crater Hill side of the refuge, refuge officials said.

The killings take away from successful, governmental preservation programs that have helped bring the nene back from near-extinction in Hawai‘i, indicated Brenda Zaun, a wildlife biologist with the Kauai National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The nene numbered only about 30 in Hawai‘i in the 1950s. Today, the statewide population of the nene is estimated at around 1,300, half of which are found on Kaua‘i.

The nene is the state bird, and has been federally protected since 1967.

The adult females that were killed during the weekend of March 11 were molting, and could not fly, Zaun said.

Because of their condition, the adult nene were vulnerable to attack by animals, she told The Garden Island Wednesday.

“We believe that a person and their dog or dogs trespassed onto the refuge, then left after the dogs killed the nene,” Zaun said.

Investigators theorize the dog or dogs were on the refuge for only a short time, because only eight nene birds had been killed.

“If a dog was running loose within the refuge, it would have left a trail of carcasses of other birds such as the Laysan albatrosses, tropic birds, and wedge-tail shearwaters,” Zaun said. An investigation is continuing.

On Feb. 21, two dogs attacked and seriously injured a nene gosling within the Seacliff Plantation subdivision.

Before the nene could be killed, a “concerned citizen” who saw the attack chased the dogs away, Zaun said.

The man then brought the injured bird to the refuge. It had sustained multiple bite wounds and lacerations that required 30 stitches in the left wing and abdomen, Zaun said.

The gosling was cared for at the refuge for seven days, and was given antibiotics before being released back to the refuge, she said. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, Zaun said.

On March 13, two dogs entered the Kilauea wildlife refuge through the front gates during hours the refuge is open to the public, Zaun said.

Refuge employees Mike Mitchell, Miriam Hornstein and Bobby Gomez captured both dogs before they could cause any harm to any birds, Zaun said. One of the staffers, however, was nearly bitten during the capture of the animals, Zaun said.

The Kauai Humane Society was called, and representatives from the organization took custody of the dogs, and held them for four days, Zaun said.

One was a beaglemix, and the other a Jack Russell terrier. The owner of the dogs was traced to one of the dogs that had a microchip and identification tag, Zaun said.

The Kilauea resident, whose identify was not released, was cited for domestic animal trespass, and was fined $100 ($50 per dog), Zaun said.

Additionally, the dog owner had to pay Kauai Humane Society leaders for four days of kennel fees. If the dogs had injured or killed an endangered species (such as a nene), a fine of up to $5,000 and six months in prison could have been imposed, Zaun said.

Of five endemic goose species from the Hawaiian islands, the nene is the only one still surviving today, she said.

The nene was bordering on extinction in the 1950s, when only 30 individuals were identified, Zaun said. None were found on Kaua‘i then.

A total of 38 nene birds were reintroduced at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge in 1991, 1993 and 1994. Another 24 nene were reintroduced at the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge in 2000.

Zaun said the birds are reproducing and are doing well on Kaua‘i, unlike on the other islands.

In the last few years, Kaua‘i has become home to the largest nene population in the state, say officials with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

• Lester Chang, staff writer, 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.