Endangered Maui bird benefits from $200M celebrity push

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A native bird species on Maui is getting some help from Jeff Bezos and Leonardo DiCaprio.

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The tech tycoon and movie star are committing $200 million to revive 100 of Earth’s most threatened species.

The Kiwikiu, also known as the Maui parrotbill, is among species set to benefit from what the two are calling the Phoenix Species Project.

The honeycreeper faces critical extinction threats from avian malaria and avian pox.

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Only an estimated 135 Kiwikiu existed in the wild in 2021, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2022 the agency predicted Kiwikiu would become extinct between 2024 and 2032, with the most likely year being 2027.

Madagascar’s Sifaka lemur, the African pancake tortoise, and the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander of North Carolina are among the other species benefiting from the funds.

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