I am on the Big Island of Hawaii visiting my friend Tonya who is volunteering at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, run by the San Diego Zoo. The facility is amazing and the work that is being done here is incredible. The Center is a captive breeding facility for some of the most critically Endangered bird species in the world. Many of the species here are not able to produce enough chicks in the wild to sustain the population. The 'Alala or Hawaiian Crow is the star species of the Center, and my personal favorite. These birds are extremely charismatic and gregarious but unfortunately their numbers in the wild became so low that the few remaining birds were taken into captivity to prolong the survival of the species. There are now 60 of these birds in captivity, with 40 of them living here at Keauhou. As far as I know there are no plans to release any of the birds into the wild.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Visit to Keauhou
I am on the Big Island of Hawaii visiting my friend Tonya who is volunteering at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center, run by the San Diego Zoo. The facility is amazing and the work that is being done here is incredible. The Center is a captive breeding facility for some of the most critically Endangered bird species in the world. Many of the species here are not able to produce enough chicks in the wild to sustain the population. The 'Alala or Hawaiian Crow is the star species of the Center, and my personal favorite. These birds are extremely charismatic and gregarious but unfortunately their numbers in the wild became so low that the few remaining birds were taken into captivity to prolong the survival of the species. There are now 60 of these birds in captivity, with 40 of them living here at Keauhou. As far as I know there are no plans to release any of the birds into the wild.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
You're very fortunate. I've never been able to get to one of their open house days due to scheduling conflicts.
Post a Comment