{"id":317880,"date":"2025-11-28T03:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T03:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/317880\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T03:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T03:08:14","slug":"two-%ca%bbalala-added-to-wild-flock-on-maui-maui-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/317880\/","title":{"rendered":"Two \u02bbalal\u0101 added to wild flock on Maui : Maui Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\"\"Two \u02bbalal\u0101 were added to the wild flock on Maui in November 2025. (Photo Credit: DLNR)<\/p>\n

The pilot project that released five \u02bbalal\u0101<\/a> (Hawaiian crows) into the forests of Maui in November of 2024 is taking steps to expand the flock. Two \u02bbalal\u0101, a male and female, were recently translocated to the field aviary where the first five birds got their start more than a year ago.<\/p>\n

Prior to the translocation of the two new birds, members of Maui\u2019s manu (bird) \u02bbohana and project partners including\u00a0San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, University of Hawai\u2018i and the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife\u00a0gathered at the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project (MFBRP) campus in Olinda for a special send-off ceremony. <\/p>\n

\"\"Cultural practitioners lead project partners in a pule ahead of the latest \u02bbalal\u0101 translocation. (Photo Credit: DLNR)<\/p>\n

Kekai Robinson from the Maui County Department of \u02bb\u014ciwi Resources led a pule (blessing) that emphasized how the effort brings together culture and \u02bb\u0101ina and reintegrates this species into the community. <\/p>\n

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The event also touched on the project\u2019s progress to date and honored the time, dedication and support from partners and the community.<\/p>\n

While the MFBRP team handles the day-to-day care and monitoring activities at the field site, the work has been the collective effort of many hands and voices.<\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo Credit: DLNR)<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the first five birds thriving after a full year in the forest and being there with them every day of that journey, has been not only extraordinary, but also gives us hope,\u201d said Dr. Hanna Mounce, MFBRP program director. \u201cWe\u2019re optimistic that these two new birds will be welcomed into the group as they begin their own path.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The timing of this latest release is intentional, a last chance to grow the group as the initial cohort approaches sexual maturity. Juvenile \u02bbalal\u0101 are more socially cohesive, spending time among the group foraging, exploring and learning from one another. They acquire skills together that will translate to success and sustainability later on. At maturity\u00a0\u02bbalal\u0101\u00a0begin to pair off, abandoning the company of the larger group and becoming more territorial. The field team anticipates this occurring anywhere between now and springtime.<\/p>\n

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For now, the two birds, both a year younger than their more established \u02bbalal\u0101 counterparts, are taking their turn at calling the release aviary home. Here, within its safe confines, they have begun acclimating to the sights and sounds of the forest and utilizing the secure space to strengthen their flight and landing muscles.<\/p>\n

The new birds are also becoming more familiar with the supplemental feeder stations (wooden boxes with a perch, suspended off the ground) that they were introduced to in captivity. Two feeder stations located within the aviary are manually replenished daily by field staff with protein, fruits and veggies. They are also automated to dispense food pellets at given times of the day. Two other feeders, strategically positioned in the forest, are being utilized by the first five.<\/p>\n

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Until the \u02bbalal\u0101 become fully self-sufficient foragers, the feeder stations serve as essential nutritional support, supplementing a natural diet that includes maile, \u02bb\u014dlapa and p\u016bkiawe. The system does more than keep the birds healthy; it also helps keep the flock anchored to an area where staff can safely and efficiently respond if a bird becomes sick or injured. The feeder stations, equipped with scales and motion-triggered cameras, also allow the team to closely monitor body condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fortitude the first five \u02bbalal\u0101 have shown thus far, having expanded their flight range and honed their skillsets since captivity, gives momentum and optimism for future progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cohort that was released last year is thriving and exhibiting a lot of natural behaviors,\u201d said Tess Hebebrand, aviculture specialist with MFBRP. \u201cAdding two new birds to the group gives us the opportunity to learn more about how the species adapts to life in the wild and can inform, when the time comes, future reintroductions on\u00a0Hawai\u2018i\u00a0Island.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mounce added: \u201cSustaining these \u02bbalal\u0101 in the wild for more than a year is an important accomplishment and a meaningful milestone for conservation in Hawai\u02bbi. I hope it gives our community confidence that, with care and collaboration, we can return native species to their rightful place on the landscape and that is the kind of progress we should continue to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within a matter of weeks, upon release from the aviary, the two new birds will get their chance to further spread their wings and experience the unfettered freedom the first cohort enjoys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two \u02bbalal\u0101 were added to the wild flock on Maui in November 2025. (Photo Credit: DLNR) The pilot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[163032,163033,163034,192,163035,163036,163037,163038,163039,163040,163041,10869,10870,163042,79,163043,17048],"class_list":["post-317880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alala","tag-alala-release","tag-dlnr-dofaw","tag-environment","tag-hanna-mounce","tag-hawaiian-crow","tag-hawaiian-forest-birds","tag-kekai-robinson","tag-maui-county-department-of-oiwi-resources","tag-maui-forest-bird-recovery-project","tag-maui-forest-birds","tag-maui-news","tag-maui-now","tag-san-diego-zoo-wildlife-alliance","tag-science","tag-tess-hebebrand","tag-university-of-hawaii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}