LAUGHING OWL
The laughing owl got its name from its shrieks thats sounds like crazy laughter. They were endemic to New Zealand living in deep crevices on limestone cliffs with some nest sites being used for many generations. One cave site in Takaka Hills was thought have been used for around 10,000 years.
Like their close relatives, the laughing owl pukes out indigestable parts into pellets when eating prey. These pellets were scattered around nesting sites and overtime formed thick layers of debris. 43 native bird species, 3 bat species, 7 lizard species, 2 native frog species, some fish, a tuatara, and numerous beetles and weevils have been identified in the pellets. With the arrival of early settlers from Eastern Polynesia, the kiore, a Pacific rat were introduced. The owl probably learn to prey on them but the rats soon preyed on its eggs and young helping the population to decline. Other animals were introduced including cats and stoats that preyed on the species. The owl went extinct in the early 20th century with the last specimen found dead at Bluecliffs Station in New Zealand on July 5, 1914. |
Kiore rats decimate the population by preying on their eggs
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CHRISTMAS ISLAND PIPISTRELLE
The Christmas island pipistrelle ( weighing at around 3 grams ) is the only endemic common bat to live in Christmas Island, an Australian territory. They trived on the island for at least a million years feeding on insects and roosting in tree hollows and decaying vegetation.
The population began to decline in the last two decades disappearing from at least 80% of its range and declined more than 90% in abundance since 1994. By 2006 the population were around 50 and it continued to decline and by 2009, there were only 20 bats left. In 2009, scientists sought permission to make a captive breeding program for the remaining 20 but the Australian government hesitated and after several months the approval was granted. Scientists arrived on the island to only find a single bat. The last Christmas Island pipistrelle bat died out on August 27, 2009. The bat's extinction were not entirely clear but the introduced feral cats, black rats, yellow crazy ants, and the common wolf snake help contribute to their extinction preying on the adults and their young. The bats helped keep the insect population stable and with their extinction could unbalance the ecosystem. |
KAUA'I O'O BIRD
The kaua'i O'o was an extinct bird from the now extinct family Mohoidae. The bird was native to the one of the islands of Hawaii, Kaua'i in the subtropical forests which they are very vulnerable since the bird lives on an island and they were among the smallest Hawaiian honeyeaters measuring at around 20 centimeters.
Little are known about their biology except that they have been observed foraging in ohia and lapalapa trees with their primary diet on small invertebrates but also ate flowers and honey. An observation inside a cavity of an ohia tree shows the parents feeding their two baby chicks and both were known to sing. Since the birds were cavity nesters, the introduction of mosquitos with avian disease caused the birds to retreat to higher elevations. The problem with this are that high elevation forests lacked cavity holes so few nests can ever be made. Other introduced animals are the Polynesian rats and domestic pigs who fed on their eggs and rival in competition for food. By the 1970s, they were only found in the Alaka'i Wilderness Reserve. Finally a hurricane came and destroyed many old trees with cavity holes and ten years later a second hurricane came and unfortunately hindered tree growth making the survival of the species hopeless. Only a single pair remained in 1981 with the female dead in 1982 and the male hadn't been sighted since 1985. The last call of the kaua'i O'o was recorded in 1987 by David Boyton, an expert in the natural history of Kaua'i. |