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Five Hawaiian forest crows known as ʻalalā, which were declared extinct in the wild decades ago, were released into Hawaii Island's Maui forests in the United States in November, marking their potential comeback into wildlife.
The jet-black ʻalalā (Corvus hawaiiensis) are among the rarest birds on Earth, having disappeared from the wild in 2002 due to habitat loss and predation. Since then, biologists have focused on breeding the birds in captivity, boosting their population from under 20 individuals in the late 1990s to more than 110 today.
"It feels very good to see these five going into the forest," Keanini Aarona, an avian recovery specialist at the Maui Bird Conservation Center, said in a video interview. "To me, and in my culture, the 'alalā are like our ancestors, our kūpuna. The forest wouldn't be there without them."
The ʻalalā is one of a handful of birds, and the only crow, known to use tools, picking up sticks off the ground and using it to dig for bugs and foraging. Researchers even suspect that its unusually straight bill shape may function as a bird version of a thumb, lending them dexterity.
In 2019, researchers at the LOHE Bioacoustics Lab found that the crows added to their vocabulary in the wild, making sounds that they did not make in captivity. "If you are ever lucky enough to be in a forest that has ʻalalā, it is one of the most goosebump-inducing feelings to hear them call in the wild," Colleen Cole, a fish and wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Pacific Islands, said in a video interview.
Despite their intelligence, previous reintroduction efforts have proved difficult.
Between 2016 and 2020, 30 birds were released into the Puú Maka'ala Natural Area Reserve on Hawai'i Island, but their numbers again started to dwindle. The reintroduction effort was paused, and the remaining birds were rescued as researchers investigated possible factors, including nest quality and social dynamics.
Leading up to the release of these five birds, scientists studied their behavior and even personality traits to better understand how the birds can thrive in the wild. The two females and three males recently released into the wild had already formed strong social bonds, increasing their chances for success.
The birds were also trained and evaluated for their defenses against predators and abilities to forage for food.
"Researchers that study the ʻalalā in captivity spend a lot of time looking at relationships between birds," Cole said. "Like people, sometimes they don't get along and it doesn't work out, and they may not thrive in that environment."
Reintroduction efforts are the result of a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawai'i's Division of Forestry and Wildlife, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and University of Hawai'i.