With San Diego Zoo’s help, endangered Hawaiian bird is bred in captivity for first time

A critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper called the ‘akikiki has been bred in captivity for the first time, by a project involving San Diego Zoo Global’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.

The single fledgling was produced by parents raised from eggs collected in the wild, Jennifer Pribble of San Diego Zoo Global said in a statement.

“So this is the first offspring ever produced in captivity. It was parent-reared — raised completely by its mother, without any human intervention,” said Pribble, a research coordinator of the zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. “The parents are a 3-year-old male and 2-year-old female.”

The program is a collaboration of the Kauai Forest Bird Recovery Project, Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office and San Diego Zoo Global.

San Diego Zoo Global is the zoo’s conservation arm, active around the world to save threatened species. It’s also taking part in an effort to breed another native Hawaiian bird, a crow called the ‘alala.

As with all native Hawaiian birds, their numbers have sharply declined since invasive species such as mosquitoes arrived with European explorers. Having evolved in relative isolation, the birds are unprepared to handle the threats.

The status of the ‘akikiki, also known as the Kaua‘i creeper, is dire. After a precipitous drop in population over the last 15 years, fewer than 500 of the birds are believed to exist in the wild. They’re small, a little over 5 inches long, and gray-feathered with white patches on the underside.

Since 2015, ‘akikiki eggs have been collected to breed a captive population that can provide extra security for the species. ‘Akikiki lay more eggs to replace those taken, so there is no loss to the wild population.

“After collecting the first ‘akikiki eggs and hand-raising the chicks, it is exciting to have confirmation that our artificial incubation and hand-rearing techniques are successful, with this milestone of ‘akikiki reproducing in captivity,” said Jeremy Hodges, a research coordinator on the project.

Fikes writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.