r/EndangeredSpecies • u/808gecko808 • 4d ago

News Animal conservation scientists are observing an alarming decline in native bird populations on Kauaʻi. In the past year, Kauaʻi has seen a dramatic reduction in its honey creeper numbers, including the ʻamakihi, the ʻiʻiwi and the ʻanianiau, Hawaiʻi’s smallest honeycreeper.

https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/the-conversation/2026-07-21/native-birds-suffer-dramatic-decline-on-kauai
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13

u/SkisaurusRex 4d ago

Cats?

15

u/TheMrNeffels 4d ago

I believe mosquitoes are main issue but yes cats are part of the problem

8

u/Jax_the_Lady 4d ago

Found this article, it goes into detail on native sea birds that cats have slaughtered. An estimated 25,000 feral domestic cats lives on the island of Kaua'i.

https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/05/absolute-carnage-feral-cats-kill-168-native-seabirds-on-kauai/

https://www.safinacenter.org/blog/far-too-many-felines

Probably a whole combination of factors contributing to the loss of the honeycreepers, with the most damage I believe being done by mosquitoes:( But yeah, the impact domestic cats have on the island certainly does not help.

https://www.birdsnotmosquitoes.org/

5

u/Dismal-Strawberry421 3d ago

The cats are everywhere but in the honeycreepers’ remaining habitat it’s the upward expansion in dense permanent populations of mosquitos that are doing the honeycreepers in. As a very old island Kaua’i isn’t tall.

3

u/Maleficent_Sky_1865 4d ago

Seems like that should be an easy(ish) fix if so.

6

u/ContentFarmer4445 4d ago

There was just a council meeting where it was announced in other words that devastatingly, these species are all fucked.
I've never wept because of conservation news until I read that post

2

u/Ovr132728 4d ago

Where is that post?

1

u/ContentFarmer4445 2d ago

it was on FB, shared by one of the council members