Na Noah Gomes, Ethnographer, SHPD
Ma ka pōmaikaʻi wale, ua ʻike ʻia kekahi lua hou o ke au kikilo ma Kona Hema, Hawaiʻi mokupuni, i ka hopena o ka makahiki 2025. He pōmaikaʻi ia a he waiwai nui hoʻi ma muli o ka ʻikepili i loaʻa mai no ko Hawaiʻi ʻano ma ia au kikilo. ʻAʻole ia he lua pao, ʻaʻole hoʻi i komo iki mua ka poʻe kanaka ma loko, ʻoiai ua paʻa ka puka o ia lua i ka pāhoehoe he 9,000-10,000 mau makahiki aku nei.
ʻO ka waiwai o ia lua nā iwi o kekahi mau manu Hawaiʻi kahiko. He ʻehiku mau paʻa iwi i loaʻa mai, a ʻo ia mau iwi he mau iwi ʻane-wīhaku, ʻo ia hoʻi he mau iwi i ʻaneʻane loa ka paʻa ʻana i iwi pōhaku, a ʻo ia kēlā mea i kapa ʻia he wīhaku. ʻO kekahi paʻa iwi manu i loaʻa mai, he nui loa nā iwi ʻau. I ka ʻike ʻana o nā hulikoehana nāna i komo mua i loko o ia lua, ua manaʻo ʻia he mea kamahaʻo loa paha ia paʻa iwi, a no laila i hōʻike aʻela ai i ka poʻe limahana o Ka ʻOihana Kumuwaiwai ʻĀina (DLNR), ma loko o ka State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD).
Hoʻouna akula ko SHPD i ke kiʻi o ia paʻa iwi manu iā Dr. Helen James, ʻo ia ka Chair o ka māhele ʻo Vertebrate Zoology ma ka Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. I hākālia nō a ʻike ʻo Dr. James i ia kiʻi, maopopo wale ihola he mau iwi maikaʻi loa ia o kekahi Branta rhuax, he ʻano manu nēnē nui lele ʻole o ke au kikilo i halapohe koke ma ka hiki mua ʻana mai o ko ka poʻe Hawaiʻi mau kūpuna ma kēia pae ʻāina. He kakaʻikahi nō nā iwi o ia manu, ʻoiai ua ʻike mua ʻia naʻe ma kekahi mau lua ʻokoʻa ma Kaʻū, Kona, a me Kohala ma Hawaiʻi.
He manu nui nō ia, he 4.3 ka hoʻonui o kona kaumaha ma mua o ko ka lāhulu manu nēnē ola e ʻike ʻia nei, he liʻiliʻi nā ʻēheu, a he nunui nā wāwae. Eia hoʻi, ʻaʻole i ʻike maka iki ʻia ka Branta rhuax ola e ka poʻe ʻepekema, ʻoiai ua pau loa i ke au kikilo.
A maopopo ihola ʻia he kakaʻikahi kēia ʻano iwi manu ʻane-wīhaku, a he waiwai nō paha no ka ʻikepili e pili ana i ke au kikilo, a laila ua alu pū nō ko ka U.S. Forest Service (USFS), ko kekahi pāʻoihana hulikoehana ʻo ASM Affiliates, ko ko DLNR mau māhele ʻo Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) a me SHPD e kiʻi a e mālama i ia mau iwi ʻane-wīhaku mai loko aʻe o ka lua.
Na Dr. Kealoha Kinney (USFS) i alakaʻi i ka unuhi akanahe ʻana i ia mau iwi lahilahi, ʻoiai ua hana pū mua me Dr. James ma kekahi hana i ʻano like. Ua alakaʻi pū ʻo Matt Clark (ASM), nāna ka noiʻi mua a me ke ana ʻana i ka lua i mea e maopopo leʻa ai ke ʻano o ko loko. Ua komo pū ʻo Steel DʻAlonzo Jaques (ASM), ʻo Steven Bergfeld (DOFAW), a me ko SHPD mau limahana: ʻO Nicole Mello, ʻo Traven Apiki, ʻo Sean Naleimaile, a me aʻu. ʻO ia mau limahana mokuʻāina, ua kākoʻo nō i ka unuhi ʻana i nā iwi ʻane-wīhaku, he mau hola ka hana ʻana ma loko o ka wela, ka ikiiki, a me ke nele ʻokikene i loko o ia lua.
He lua ʻano nui nō. He hiki nō i ke kanaka makua ke kū a hele wāwae i ka nui o ia wahi, he ʻano haʻahaʻa naʻe ma kauwahi mau ʻololī ʻana e koi ai i ke kolo. He mau pōhaku hoʻi e waiho ana i ʻō a i ʻaneʻi nāna i hiolo mai luna o ke kaupoku ma ka wā kahiko. Ua ʻike ʻia kekahi puka kahiko o ka lua i paʻa i ka pāhoehoe ma kikilo, aia nō ma kahi kokoke i nā iwi o ia Branta rhuax. He kupanaha ka waiho ʻana o ia mau iwi o ka nēnē nui lele ʻole, me he mea lā aia ka nui o nā iwi ma kahi hoʻokahi o ka wā i make ai ka manu. ʻO nā wāwae, ka umauma, nā ʻēheu, a me ka ʻāʻī, ua like nō ke kāhela me ka manu i make nei. Koe nō ka nuku, ua pau.
ʻOiai ua kapa nei au i ia manu he ʻano “nēnē nui,” ʻaʻole kākou maopopo i kona inoa Hawaiʻi kahiko, ua halapohe ma kikilo. Eia hoʻi, ʻaʻole i kapa hou ʻia he inoa Hawaiʻi e ka poʻe o kēia au. He āiwaiwa nui nō kēia manu. ʻO nā iwi manu ʻē aʻe i loaʻa mai, ʻaʻole i kālailai ʻē ʻia e ka poʻe ʻepekema i mea e maopopo ai i ko lākou mau ʻano.
He pōkole nō paha ka manawa i koe e noiʻi ai i ka lua, ʻaʻole i maopopo leʻa ʻia ka hopena o ia lua i kēia mua aku. ʻO ia noiʻi mau nō ia a Dr. Kinney i nā mea o loko, a he nui nā mea hou ʻē aʻe i loaʻa mai, he mau holoholona iwi kuamoʻo ʻole, he mau o ka lāʻau kahiko, a he lepo mai kikilo mai. Ahu kupanaha hoʻi paha ka ʻike e loaʻa mai no kēlā au o kikilo.
