Center for Biological Diversity

110 Success Stories for Endangered Species Day 2012

Hawaii        


Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 6/2/1970Recovery plan: 10/23/1998
   

Range: AK(s), CA(s), FL(o), HI(s), ME(o), MD(o), MA(o), NH(o), NY(o), NC(o), OR(m), RI(o), SC(o), WA(m) ---

SUMMARY
The blue whale population was reduced by as much as 99 percent due to whaling that occurred before the mid-1960s. The number of whales reported off the coast of California, the largest stock in U.S. waters, increased from 704 in 1980 to an estimated 2,497 in 2010.

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Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 6/2/1970Recovery plan: 7/30/2010
   

Range: AL(o), AK(s), CA(s), CT(s), DE(s), FL(s), GA(s), HI(s), LA(o), ME(s), MD(s), MA(s), MS(o), NH(s), NY(s), NJ(s), NC(s), OR(s), PA(s), RI(s), SC(s), TX(o), VA(s), WA(s) ---

SUMMARY
Fin whales were hunted in all the world's oceans for the first three-quarters of the 20th century, causing population decline. Ongoing threats include illegal and legal whaling, vessel collisions, fishing gear entanglement, reduced prey and noise. Total population size is unknown, but both the North Atlantic and North Pacific populations increased between 1995 and 2009.

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Hawaiian common moorhen (`alae `ula) (Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 3/11/1967Recovery plan: 10/28/2011
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
The Hawaiian common moorhen declined due to destruction and degradation of its wetland habitat. Though absolute abundance numbers are not clear, the species growth rate was sharply positive from 1956 through the mid-to-late 1980s, then increased more slowly through 2007.

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Hawaiian coot (`alae ke`oke`o) (Fulica alai)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 10/13/1970Recovery plan: 10/28/2011
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
The Hawaiian coot was initially threatened by hunting in the first half of the last century, but is now threatened primarily by loss of habitat. The Hawaiian coot has increased from 1,000 birds on an extinction trajectory in the 1960's to over 2,000 birds today.

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Hawaiian duck (koloa maoli) (Anas wyvilliana)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 3/11/1967Recovery plan: 10/28/2011
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
The Hawaiian duck was endangered by hunting, non-native predators, hybridization with domestic ducks, and habitat loss. By 1962, it had been extirpated from all the Hawaiian Islands except Kauai where a few hundred birds remained. In 2002, there were 2,300 birds on Kauai (2,000) and Hawaii (300), and unknown numbers on Oahu and Maui.

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Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 3/11/1967Recovery plan: 9/24/2004
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
Once numbering more than 20,000 birds, the Hawaiian goose (or “nene”) was reduced to 30 individuals by 1918 due to overhunting, habitat loss and introduced predators. As a result of captive breeding, reintroductions, predator control and habitat protection, it increased from 400 birds in 1980 to 1,744 in 2006.

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Hawaiian stilt (ae`o) (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 10/13/1970Recovery plan: 10/28/2011
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
The Hawiian stilt is threatened by habitat loss, predation, and formerly, hunting. It declined to just 200 birds by 1941. The population increased after listing in 1970 and averaged nearly 1,500 birds from 1998-2007.

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Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 6/2/1970Recovery plan: 11/15/1991
   

Range: AL(o), AK(s), CA(s), CT(s), DE(s), FL(s), GA(s), HI(s), LA(o), ME(s), MD(s), MA(s), MS(o), NH(s), NY(s), NJ(s), NC(s), OR(s), RI(s), SC(s), TX(o), VA(s), WA(s) ---

SUMMARY
Humpback whale populations were greatly depleted by commercial whaling by the early 1900s. In 1966, the entire North Pacific humpback population was thought to number only around 1,200 animals. As of 2010, the total population of North Pacific humpback was estimated at 21,808.

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Laysan duck (Anas laysanensis)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 3/11/1967Recovery plan: 7/7/2009
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
By the late 19th century, the Laysan duck had disappeared from most of the Hawaiian Islands due to exotic predators, habitat loss and windblown sand. It is currently threatened by disease, tsunamis and storms, drought and small population size. In 1911 only seven adult ducks remained. The population grew to 440-600 by the 1950s as vegetation recovered. Thanks to a reintroduction program in 2004, the population grew to 891 adult birds on two islands in 2010.

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Laysan finch (Telespiza cantans)

Status: EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 3/11/1967Recovery plan: 10/4/1984
   

Range: HI(b) ---

SUMMARY
The finch is endemic to Laysan Island, Hawaii. It declined precipitously following the introduction of rabbits that denuded the island of vegetation, but increased following rabbit removal. It remains threatened by invasive species and sea-level rise. The Laysan finch was nearly driven to extinction by habitat damage caused by invasive rabbits. At listing in 1967 the total population was estimated at 7,779 birds. The population fluctuates widely, but was estimated at 17,780 birds in 2006.

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Pacific green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi)

Status: Threatened/EndangeredCritical habitat: none
Listed: 7/28/1978Recovery plan: 1/12/1998
   

Range: AS(b), CA(s), GU(b), HI(b), MP(b), OR(o), WA(o) ---

SUMMARY
Green sea turtles in the Pacific are threatened by habitat loss, egg collection, hunting, beach development, bycatch mortality in commercial fisheries, and sea level rise due to global warming. Since being protected in 1978, the number of females nesting at East Island of French Frigate Shoals, approximately half of the total Hawaii population, increased from 105 in 1978 to 808 in 2011.

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