Progress on the State of Nature Preservation on Hunga Ha'apai
Thousands of bird species in Oceania are extinct since mankind came to count them and decimate them. Fortunately, for the surviving varieties, there are islands of preservation -- literally.
Once the average Pacific island has been visited by large ships, the avian population suffers from rat infestation. Why do the ships come? The obvious reasons: tourism, trade, and the mining of huge untouched fields of guano.
Those problems have escaped Hunga Ha'apai, in the Kingdom of Tonga, which is left to the birds.
Hunga Ha'apai is home to the Friendly Ground-Dove, (Gallicolumba stairii), called the Tu in Polynesian. As the Tongan Wildlife Centre reports, the Tu "clearly suffers from forest destruction, hunting and predation by introduced cats. The birds are very tame and confident and are easy prey for cats and humans. Its future in Tonga depends on the protection of islands such as Fonualei, Late, Hunga Ha'apai and Hunga Tonga."
The Pacific Pigeon (Ducula pacifica), called the Lupe, does not need to be isolated from people; they coexist well. However, it needs heavily forested surroundings, which Hunga Ha'apai supplies well.
The Spotless Crane (Porzana tabuensis), called the Moro, may be totallly extinct in Tonga. It is a shy creature of the wetlands; if it can be found in the tall grasses of Hunga Ha'apai's swamps and marshes, that may be the only stand of the Moro.
So, with this peaceful avian paradise in the Pacific, the outlook is excellent for the preserv.... ah...
Excuse me a moment, I have a voice in my earpiece. Yes?....
Say that again?....
Really?..... Oh.
Well, that's rather bad luck for the Moro, then, eh?
Ladies and gentlemen, disregard my report. Mother Nature has seen to it that Hunga Ha'apai's status has somewhat... er, changed.
Once the average Pacific island has been visited by large ships, the avian population suffers from rat infestation. Why do the ships come? The obvious reasons: tourism, trade, and the mining of huge untouched fields of guano.
Those problems have escaped Hunga Ha'apai, in the Kingdom of Tonga, which is left to the birds.
Hunga Ha'apai is home to the Friendly Ground-Dove, (Gallicolumba stairii), called the Tu in Polynesian. As the Tongan Wildlife Centre reports, the Tu "clearly suffers from forest destruction, hunting and predation by introduced cats. The birds are very tame and confident and are easy prey for cats and humans. Its future in Tonga depends on the protection of islands such as Fonualei, Late, Hunga Ha'apai and Hunga Tonga."
The Pacific Pigeon (Ducula pacifica), called the Lupe, does not need to be isolated from people; they coexist well. However, it needs heavily forested surroundings, which Hunga Ha'apai supplies well.
The Spotless Crane (Porzana tabuensis), called the Moro, may be totallly extinct in Tonga. It is a shy creature of the wetlands; if it can be found in the tall grasses of Hunga Ha'apai's swamps and marshes, that may be the only stand of the Moro.
So, with this peaceful avian paradise in the Pacific, the outlook is excellent for the preserv.... ah...
Excuse me a moment, I have a voice in my earpiece. Yes?....
Say that again?....
Really?..... Oh.
Well, that's rather bad luck for the Moro, then, eh?
Ladies and gentlemen, disregard my report. Mother Nature has seen to it that Hunga Ha'apai's status has somewhat... er, changed.
