Disease Risks When Moving Wildlife To New Areas: Endangered Laysan Duck Cautionary Tale
Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 00:21
in Biology & Nature
Laysan ducks, one of the world's most endangered waterfowl, are native to only the Hawaiian archipelago. For 150 years, Laysan ducks were restricted to an estimated 4 square kilometers of land on Laysan Island in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In 2004 and 2005, in an effort to rebuild the population, biologists released 42 Laysan ducks on Midway Atoll, located one day's boat ride from Laysan.