Lisa “Kali” Crampton, a conservation biologist, feels a mix of sadness and hope when it comes to the impending loss of the ‘akikiki, or Kaua‘i creeper, from the isle’s forests.
The ‘akikiki, or Oreomystis bairdi, is now considered functionally extinct, with only a handful of those birds left on Kaua‘i.
That means the species cannot sustain itself in the wild, according to Crampton, project leader of the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project.
“The definition of that is 10 females, and there are not 10 females left in the landscape,” she said. “From here it could not recover on its own. It would need vast amounts of help.”
The No. 1 drivers of the extinction crisis are mosquito-borne diseases such as avian malaria and avian pox.
Crampton supports measures such as the introduction of male mosquitoes containing a strain of Wolbachia bacteria to disrupt their breeding cycle — known as the Incompatible Insect Technique — to help control avian malaria.
That program, which is slated to begin on Kaua‘i in 2025 after earlier smaller-scale pilot releases, might come too late for the ‘akikiki. But it could give other dwindling species of honeycreepers greater odds of survival.
A coalition of state, federal, private and nonprofit partners including the American Bird Conservancy — known as Birds, Not Mosquitoes — worked together to launch the project, which met with resistance and a lawsuit on Maui.
A state Circuit Court judge, however, cleared the way in February for the mosquitoes to be released on Maui, and the project is underway.
On Kaua‘i, meanwhile, a team recently hiked into the remote Alaka‘i Plateau to survey the number of remaining ‘akikiki in the wild. It was, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, also a trip to say goodbye.
Crampton says the team spotted just one, and believe it was a female named Pakele.
There could be more ‘akikiki left, she said, but to count the critically endangered ‘akikiki remaining in the wild would require more time to scour the plateau, which was not possible with only two days in the field.
“There may only be one left, there may be five left,” she said. “We don’t know exactly. There’s a handful of birds left. But their extinction in the wild is imminent.”
If they were to see just one, she said, then seeing Pakele offered a boost of hope.
Pakele has been observed with six nests and two different male mates, said Crampton. Despite the deaths of the two male mates, she kept on trying to mate and build nests.
She represents hope for the species, Crampton said, because she simply does not give up.
“While she’s out there doing this to keep everything going, we have to keep going,” said Crampton.
More than 40 species of Hawaiian honeycreepers already are gone, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, while two other species — the kiwikiu and ‘akohekohe in East Maui — are expected to become extinct within two to 15 years if avian malaria is left unchecked.
Warmer temperatures driven by climate change allow mosquitoes to range into higher elevations in Hawai‘i, increasing the risks of avian malaria and avian pox.
Because it is difficult to prove extinction, it can take decades before the federal government determines a particular species to be extinct.
This was the case last year for eight Hawaiian forest honeycreepers, including the Kaua‘i ‘akialoa, Kaua‘i nukupu‘u, Kaua‘i o‘o, large Kaua‘i thrush, Maui akepa, Maui nukupu‘u, Molokai creeper and po‘ouli, also known as the black-faced honeycreeper.
There is also hope, said Crampton, with the ‘akikiki being raised in captivity by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
Some of Pakele’s offspring are among the birds being raised in captivity, she said — and perhaps one day, when the threat of avian malaria is stamped out, they can be released back into Kaua‘i’s forest.
Meanwhile, she is buoyed by the attention forest birds are getting since the state officially declared this year as “Makahiki o na Manu Nahele,” or “year of the forest birds.”
