During his years in the wild, the Hawaiian crow Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 was able to live up to his name: a 鈥済uardian of the forest.鈥 Along with other 驶Alal膩 (as the crows are called in native Hawaiian), he had been reintroduced to the wild in Pu驶u Maka驶ala Natural Area Reserve on Hawai驶i Island after being raised in captivity by the 驶Alal膩 Project, a partnership between federal and Hawaiian state conservation agencies and the San Diego Zoo Global.
"As you walk through the forest, you could hear him territorial calling, and you knew it was him," says Jackie Gaudioso-Levita, one of the project's coordinators. "He made it very clear you were coming into his territory, you were coming into his home.鈥
But earlier this month, scientists brought Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 and four other remaining birds back to the conservation center where they were raised. They were the last survivors of the 鈥楢lal膩 that had been reintroduced to the forests since 2016, after the species had been declared extinct in the wild in 2002. Out of the 30 birds released, only these five had survived.
Now, the wet forests of the nature preserve will no longer ring with the of free-living 驶Alal膩; the corvids are, once again, extinct in the wild.
Researchers decided to bring Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 and the other birds back to captivity after a number of fatalities. Some of those deaths were caused by predation, mostly by another native bird: the 驶Io, or the Hawaiian Hawk. Other 鈥楢lal膩 perished in winter storms or simply went missing and were never recovered.
The recovery of any critically endangered species isn鈥檛 easy and takes time. Sometimes, it can take decades. One of the most successful recovery stories in Hawaii's conservation history took place with another endemic Hawaiian bird: the N膿n膿, a Hawaiian goose. The N膿n膿 was federally protected under the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1967 and only down-listed to threatened this year. Researchers released group after group of captive-bred N膿n膿 in the intervening decades until a self-sustaining population was finally realized.
The Alal膩 will likely have a similarly long battle ahead. Indeed, back in 2016, a handful of the released birds were brought back to the center. Within a week of being in the wild, three of the birds had died. The researchers recaptured the surviving birds to be safe鈥攊ncluding Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠, who was later released again under more favorable conditions.
In the days before this year's recent recapture, researchers could hear Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 making alarm calls as an 驶Io was seen circling the area. But he stood his ground quite well.
鈥淲e call him the 驶champion bird,鈥欌 Guadioso-Levita says, citing his survival skills. 鈥淗e can be aggressive and has been seen mobbing 鈥業o.鈥
The 驶Alal膩 is only one of a few corvid species worldwide that is a 鈥渢ool user,鈥 long considered to be a signifier of animal intelligence. Even for an 驶Alal膩, researchers seem to think Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 is especially intelligent. Back in 2016, when they released the first captive-bred 鈥楢lal膩, Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 was the first to exit a temporary aviary and fly into the wild. Last year, he paired up with a female, and the two worked at placing sticks in a fork of a tree, exhibiting pre-nesting behavior.
After researchers decided to recapture the birds this year, 鈥渨e tried to catch him for a month, and he outsmarted us every time,鈥 Guadioso-Levita admits.
Crucially, for birds raised in captivity, each one of the five recaptured birds (three that are female and two that are male, including Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠) exhibited a variety of anti-predator response tactics during their time in the wild. Gaudioso-Levita hopes to preserve and cultivate those survival skills among the population, even in captivity.
鈥淭hese five birds can serve as really valuable mentors,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e want to make sure that their skills and wild culture can be passed on to future release birds.鈥
Given the close calls and the predation threat from the Hawaiian hawks, the 驶Alal膩 Project has paused the next scheduled release of captive-bred 驶Alal膩, which they had originally planned for 2022. Gaudioso-Levita makes it very clear, however, that the team is not giving up on one day having a self-sustaining wild population of 驶Alal膩. They just have some regrouping to do.
One critical area of study will be the predation by the 鈥業o. Gaudioso-Levita wants to learn more about the hawk鈥檚 population, distribution, territorial size, and daily movements before releasing a new group of captive 驶Alal膩.
The researchers are also considering new release strategies next time. One option is to release adult pairs or family groups that formed in captivity. Another is to try a different island for the next release; corvid fossils have been found on four of the main Hawaiian Islands, and no 驶Io currently live on any island except Hawai驶i Island. That option, however, would involve different community and stakeholder commitments, and to conduct any necessary habitat restoration. The 驶Alal膩 themselves also need space: Records from the 1990s indicate that their median home range is 1,186 acres.
鈥楢lal膩 are culturally significant birds in Hawaii, and there are many stories and sayings about them. One such Hawaiian saying goes, 鈥淗e 驶Alal膩, he leo manu nui.鈥 It translates to, 鈥淭he 驶Alal膩, the bird with the big voice.鈥
With time and luck, Kia鈥榠k奴mokuh膩li鈥榠 will soon be back on the slope of Hawaii鈥檚 Mauna Loa, raising a ruckus.