Researcher holds a petrel chick on Tern Island. Photo by A. Boyd / USFWS
Fifty-three Bonin petrel and twenty-five Tristam’s storm-petrel chicks arrived at their new home at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge near Kahuku, O’ahu, after a six day boat ride from Tern Island and Midway Atoll, part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. These chicks will join a cohort of twenty-two Black-footed albatross chicks inside a predator-proof fence, in hopes of founding a new seabird colony.
Animal care team placing the chicks in their new burrows. / Photo by L. Young / Pacific Rim Conservation
“These species have never before been translocated to a new home by boat,” said Matt Brown, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Superintendent for Papahānaumokuākea. “Knowing we can move these rare seabirds long distances by sea will enable us to adapt to an ever-changing environment and help prevent the potential loss of a species.”
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 