Release the ʻalala

 

Actually, conservationists in Hawaii just did release five 'alala, also known as the Hawaiian crow, into the wild on Maui.  The 'alala are extremely endangered, and were also extinct in the wild for a period of time. And having five of them in the wild doesn't exactly mean they're in great shape. But they still have a chance.

How scientists are giving these rare, brainy birds a second chance

After years in captivity, five members of a rare bird species called the ʻalala, or Hawaiian crow, are flying free in the wild, officials announced Wednesday.

"By the late 1990s, fewer than 20 of these crows persisted, with the habitat loss and predation by cats and other non-native animals pushing them to the brink. After the survivors were brought into conservation breeding centers, the bird went extinct in the wild in 2002.

Between 2016 and 2020, the crows’ caretakers reintroduced 30 ʻalala into the wild on Hawaii’s Big Island. For years they thrived, pairing off and building nests. But scientists decided to recapture the crows when their numbers began to decline as Hawaii’s native hawk, the ‘io, began preying on them."