Hawaii authorities announced that they have referred 33 people to U.S. law enforcement after the group of people allegedly harassed a pod of wild dolphins. It is illegal to swim with Hawaii’s spinner dolphins because it can be harmful to their health and well-being. When humans swim with dolphins, it can cause stress to the […]
Tag: hawaiian islands
Birds of Hawaii Face Threats Of Extinction As Climate Change Helps Mosquitoes Expand Territory
Some of Hawaii’s most beautiful birds will soon go extinct without intervention. Only a few dozen ‘akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi), live in the wild, and another 42 are in captivity. The species is confined to Kauai and one of Hawaii’s most endangered birds. The ‘akeke‘e (Loxops caeruleirostris) population is larger but also endangered, with just 600 […]
Protecting Reef Wildlife by Stopping the Aquarium Trade
Nowadays, when you are snorkeling in the Hawaiian Islands, unless you are in a protected area, you may be faced with the fact that the very marine animals have left the building. I returned to the Big Island to go snorkeling after 15 years and was shocked at the absence of beautiful reef fish that […]
Over 47 tons of plastic found at US marine reserve – and an entangled seal
In a span of just over three weeks, more than 47 tons of plastic waste were removed from America’s largest protected marine reserve, sometimes directly off animals, a stark reminder of the scourge of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. An expedition spent 24 days clearing 10 miles of shoreline in the atolls and islands […]
Hawaiian honeycreeper birds at risk of extinction from avian malaria
In the rugged mountain forests of Kaua’i, colorful birds called honeycreepers are dying out. Usually protected by the cooler temperatures found at higher altitudes, the birds are now victims of malaria-carrying mosquitoes that have crept upward as temperatures rise. Honeycreeper populations declined an average of 68 percent in the core of their preferred range on […]
Scientists identify 137 protected areas most important for preserving biodiversity
Want to save the world’s biodiversity from mass extinction? Then make certain to safeguard the 74 sites identified today in a new study in Science. Evaluating 173,000 terrestrial protected areas, scientists pulled out the most important ones for global biodiversity based on the number of threatened mammals, birds, and amphibians found in the parks. In […]