For the first time since 1986, scientists have discovered the burrows of the rare Taʻiʻo, or Tahiti Petrel, on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa.
The burrows were found by researchers from the Hawaiʻi-based organization Archipelago Research and Conservation. ARC researchers have been working to find Taʻiʻo burrows since 2020.
Their job has not been easy. André Raine, science director for ARC, said the bird only comes to land at night. When it does, it likes to stay in the remote mountaintops.
"They're very cryptic," Raine said. "There's not a lot known about their breeding seasons, about what they eat, where they breed."
In 2018, the Taʻiʻo was classified as "near threatened" after numbers dwindled due to an increase in introduced predators, threats at sea and the impact of artificial lights on the island.
Raine said wild cats, dogs and rats pose a particular threat to the seabird.
"They're sitting in a nest site, which is a burrow, a hole in the ground, for months on end," he explained. "All you need is one cat to get in there, and it can dispatch an entire colony."
Some of the burrows ARC discovered had already been predated by cats.
Raine said there were likely millions of Taʻiʻo in Samoa in the past. He said he and and his team are working to bring back their numbers.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 25, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
