The creatures of the Hawaiian forest are unlike those found anywhere else on
earth. After our islands rose from the sea,
it took millennia for them to be colonized. It is estimated that a new
plant species was established every 100,000 years after seeds braved ocean
currents and strong winds or hitched rides on visiting birds, they found new
environments free of predators. Over time many of them lost their defense
mechanisms, which serve to protect them from predatory creatures or safeguard
them from foreign diseases that would try to do them in. The ancestors of our
native species evolved in isolation into a dazzling array of new species filling
in the available space in their new home. Hawaiian culture is closely tied to
these unique plants and animals.
Unfortunately when people introduce plants and animals from other places it
often set off a chain reaction that resulted in extinctions. Hawaii has the
unfortunate title, "the extinction capital of the world" with many more species
currently endangered. The native Hawaiians first arrived, the islands forests were
teeming with tiny land snails, including the Kāhuli or tree snails. Hawaii once hosted as
many species of snails as the entire rest of the United States, their brightly
colored shells gave rise to the nickname, "jewels of the forest", the Hawaiians
celebrated Kāhuli in oli, mele and mo'olelo. They also believed Kāhuli
possessed the ability to sing. Kāhuli performed the role of
decomposer returning nutrients to the environment.
When people first arrived here they would have seen Kāhuli everywhere. You
could turn over leaves and find them snuggling next to one another often
remaining on a single tree for their entire life, they are long-lived. If you
first saw Kāhuli as a child, it's possible you might continue to see that
same Kāhuli into your 20s. How sad it is to think
that most of these remaining species will be extinct in the wild in the next
five to ten years. It is quite possible our grandchildren may see a forest void
of these creatures. When land snails start disappearing from a force
ecosystem you know that, that something is out of balance something's wrong
they're one of the first species that will drop out. They're vulnerable to a
lot of different factors and and so in that sense we can use them to identify a
healthy forest and we can also use them to identify a forest that's experiencing
detrimental impacts from invasive species or climate change. Despite the
many challenges, there's always hope. Hawaii's conservationists work
passionately to give Kāhuli and other endangered species a chance to survive.
Projects focusing on individual species both great and small were formed for
this purpose, including the snail extinction prevention program. There's
currently a captive breeding facility where snails from the wild can be
brought in and kept safely until it's possible to return them to their native
homes. Unfortunately, introduced predators, land
change over time, has all contributed to the decline of of this pretty
spectacular fauna. We're currently on the brink of of losing over a hundred
species within the next ten years at the rate of decline and and this is largely
due to introduced predators.
Often extraordinary steps are taken to protect the species under our care.
I personally was involved in what we called "Operation Snail Bail" when we
moved hundreds of Kāhuli to safety during a hurricane. They are critically
endangered, so we are kind of on high alert. Yeah so I will be spending the
night with the snails here in the office. Our islands without tree snails, without
the beauty of the Kamehameha butterfly, the siren call of the Alala, or the
delight of the Nene, Hawaii's state bird would lose a core piece of their essence,
their culture, their soul. Once on the brink of extinction, there were only
thirty wild nene left on Hawai'i Island by the early 1950s, it already been wiped
out elsewhere across the islands. Persistence and keen focus on the goal
of boosting their population has brought them close to 3,000 today. In this field
naturally I'm an optimist, you have to be. But I am optimistic, we we have the tools
to prevent the extinction. Many provide a great example of how time, dedication,
good science and some luck make it possible to save a species on the brink.
Nene are now well re-established on Maui and Kauai and have recently been seen on
Oahu for the first time in 300 years. The blueprint for saving the nene has
adapted and progressed it's a guide being used in attempts to reintroduce
and save other species like the Native Hawaiian crow, the Alala.
Can you imagine never having seen a nene? We can't give up hope. There's so much at
stake and still so much that can be accomplished to keep our forests, what
they offer to both our natural and cultural worlds vibrant and alive. We're
faced with choices, do we let native plants and animals slip away, victims of
a voracious modern world or do we find the time, the energy, the
money and the emotional investment to return them to the rightful place in our
collective consciousness. Return them to the forests for life.
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