Feds investigate bird shooting in Kailua
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the killing of a protected Laysan albatross, or moli, earlier this month on the windward side of O‘ahu. The injured bird was brought into Sea Life Park on Jan. 5 after reportedly being found in the Keolu Hills area in Kailua, and died two days later. It had been shot by a .22 caliber pellet. “It saddens me that someone would indiscriminately kill such a majestic native bird,” said Special Agent George Phocas, who said the albatross is struggling to make a comeback in areas such as Ka‘ena Point. “True sportsmen and gun users in Hawaii fulfill their kuleana to everyone and especially to the ‘aina by first learning the rules and the proper skills and standards,” he said. Killing an albatross is bad luck, he said, as well as illegal: the bird is protected by both federal and state law. Anyone who has information about the incident is asked to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (808) 861-8525, or the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources Hotline at 643-3357.