Five alala thriving in the wild nearly 2 years after Maui release

News admin October 21, 2026 0 Comments

Five alala thriving in the wild nearly 2 years after Maui release

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Five ʻalalā released into the forests of Haleakala nearly two years ago continue to show promising signs of adapting to life in the wild.

The Hawaiian crows are regularly foraging for natural food, forming pair bonds, showing territorial behavior and building nests, according to the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.

One dominant pair has built nests during two consecutive nesting seasons. While those attempts have not yet produced chicks, researchers said the repeated nesting behavior is encouraging.

“Having all five birds in the wild and healthy, nearly two years after release, is a significant accomplishment,” said Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project Program Manager Hanna Mounce.

The birds were raised in captive breeding centers and continue to use supplemental feeding stations in the forest.

Researchers said they are also increasingly finding their own food, including native fruits, insects, spiders and small vertebrates.

The flock has also weathered severe conditions, including recent Kona lows and Tropical Storm Lala.

Field teams said the birds have continued to show resilience despite downed trees, flooding and other storm impacts across Maui.

Plans to add two more birds to the existing flock have since been changed because the original group has shown stronger territorial behavior.

Officials said that behavior is a sign the birds are maturing and establishing the forest as their own territory.

The results are helping guide future recovery efforts, including possible additional release sites on Maui and renewed reintroductions on Hawaiʻi Island.

“There is still a lot we need to learn, particularly about what it will take for them to successfully reproduce,” Mounce said. “But the progress we’ve seen on Maui is giving us valuable information to guide the next steps in ʻalalā recovery.”