From parrothanging@YAHOO.CO.UK Sun Dec  5 14:47:37 2004
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 23:08:37 +0530
From: Prashanth N S 
To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU
Subject: FW: [bngbirds] NEWS: Future Uncertain for Rare Hawaiian Bird

-----Original Message-----
From: Ullas P.A. [mailto:ullaspa@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 6:54 PM
To: bngbirds@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bngbirds] NEWS: Future Uncertain for Rare Hawaiian Bird


Future Uncertain for Rare Hawaiian Bird

JAYMES SONG

Associated Press

HONOLULU - One of Earth's rarest birds might have gone into extinction
following the death of one of the last known po'ouli.

The aging male po'ouli died in captivity Friday, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service said Tuesday. It had recently contracted avian
malaria, but the exact cause of death won't be known until tests from
the necropsy are completed.

The remaining two po'ouli, believed to be a male and a female, haven't
been seen for nearly a year. They might also have died, moved to
another area or have just been missed by wildlife officials.

"This species was a unique part of Earth's history," said Eric
VanderWerf, the Fish and Wildlife Service's Hawaiian bird recovery
coordinator. "We'll never have another one like it if it disappears. I
kind of liken it in someway to the loss of the Mona Lisa or the
Sistine Chapel. If we lost that, we could never get it back."

The rare Hawaiian honeycreeper had been kept at the Maui Bird
Conservation Center in Olinda since it was captured for breeding on
Sept. 9. Biologists failed to capture a mate for the aging bird, which
was found in the Hanawi Natural Area Reserve.

The state, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Zoological Society of
San Diego, which operates the Maui conservation center, began a search
Tuesday to find the remaining two po'ouli in the remote rainforests of
Maui.

The small, stocky, brown bird with a partial black face described as a
bandit's mask was discovered in 1973 by a group of University of
Hawaii students conducting research on the east slope of Haleakala
volcano. It is so unique that is has its own genus, and is the only
Hawaiian forest bird to rely heavily on native tree snails for food.

Tissue samples from the dead bird were saved for cryogenic
preservation for possible cloning in the future.

"Someday, when technology catches up with our fantasies, we may be
able to resurrect the po'ouli because we saved these cells," Lieberman
said.

The po'ouli's numbers have dwindled because of habitat loss and
introduced predators like rats, cats and mongoose. Nonnative diseases
carried by mosquitos have also taken a toll on the Hawaiian birds.


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
$9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/70TolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->


Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bngbirds/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    bngbirds-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/