Seeking the Sacred Raven: Politics and Extinction on a Hawaiian Island

Science News,  August 5, 2006  

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SEEKING THE SACRED RAVEN: Politics and Extinction on a Hawaiian Island

MARK JEROME WALTERS

In a poignant style, veterinarian and journalist Waiters tells a cautionary tale about how politics and conservation can intersect in a way that turns the best intentions into unpredicted results. His tale revolves around the 'alala bird, a species related to ravens and held sacred by native Hawaiians as a spirit guide to the afterlife. Before Europeans arrived in the 1700s, the 'alala flourished in the cloud forests of the Hawaiian highlands, protected by its spiritual significance and remote habitats. By 1975, fewer than 15 of these birds were known to remain in the wild. Waiters takes readers along as he travels to Mauna Loa to interview locals about the 'alala's significance to Hawaiian spirituality, biologists on their task of shoring up the bird's habitat and reintroducing captive birds to the wild, and others on conservation attempts that have backfired. Battles between government agencies, private-land owners, and biologists led to the bird's recent passage into virtual extinction in the wild, Waiters asserts. Island Press, 2006, 293 p., hardcover, $24.95.

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