Ikaika Langley and Chris Veniegas were instrumental in the capture of a live mongoose May 23 near the Lihu‘e Airport and their efforts were rewarded Thursday. The Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee in partnership with Leland Nishek and the Kaua‘i Nursery
Ikaika Langley and Chris Veniegas were instrumental in the capture of a live mongoose May 23 near the Lihu‘e Airport and their efforts were rewarded Thursday.
The Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee in partnership with Leland Nishek and the Kaua‘i Nursery and Landscaping offered the pair a $100 reward for their efforts. The reward was split between the two residents.
KISC Trapper Pat Gmelin notified Langley and Veniegas that they were being rewarded for their timely sightings of a mongoose at the Marriott Kaua‘i Lagoons Golf Resort, according to a KISC press release.
Although there have been a total of 14 sightings of this elusive creature in the Lihu‘e area since the end of March, Langley was the first to notify KISC of the presence of a mongoose at the Lagoons on April 1, said Tiffani Keanini, KISC outreach and project facilitator. Traps were then set at various sites around the property and around-the-clock monitoring was initiated.
On May 1, Veniegas notified KISC just moments after sighting a mongoose near the airport fence. Additional traps were then set in the area where the mongoose was eventually captured.
Keanini said KISC would like to thank all the members of the Marriott security and maintenance teams for their assistance with access. Keanini said KISC also appreciates all the people who reported sightings leading up to the eventual capture of the first live mongoose on Kaua‘i.
Although the reward is no longer available, Nishek said he hopes the public will continue to be vigilant and report mongoose sightings immediately to KISC at 821-1490.
