‘Unruly’ people watch as dog tramples nest of endangered bird in Hawaii, officials say
A pair of “unruly” adults watched as a dog they were walking wreaked havoc on the nest of an endangered bird in Hawaii, officials said.
The incident happened at Liliʻuokalani Gardens, a park on the island of Hawaii, the nonprofit Nēnē Research and Conservation wrote in a Dec. 1 post on Facebook. Officials from the conservation group and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources were at the park a few days before and heard “alarm calls” from a nesting female nene, an endangered goose that’s the state bird of Hawaii, the post said.
“We rushed over and saw a leashed dog sniffing and trampling the Nēnē nest, while two adult humans stood by. As we approached, the adults became unruly, ignoring our attempts to explain why their actions were harmful,” the conservation group said.
When officials returned on Dec. 1, they saw thousands of flies around the nest and found at least one cracked egg, the nonprofit said.
“We watched as the female Nēnē moved the remaining viable eggs out of the nest and carefully cleaned out the broken egg’s remains and shell,” the group said, noting that cats and mongoose — which eat nene eggs — were spotted showing interest in the area.
“The female then settled back on her remaining eggs, and we can only hope she won’t abandon them,” the agency said.
The nene is a medium-sized goose that’s native to Hawaii.
Part of a path in the park has been closed because of dogs bothering the nene nest, Friends of Lili’uokalani Gardens wrote on Facebook.
In its post, Nēnē Research and Conservation said it will keep exploring how “our community can help prevent such incidents and ensure the safety of our native species.”
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