Nēnē Gosling Found Dead At Liliʻuokalani Park
By Jordan Lerma
Published: April 22, 2024
Last Updated: November 19, 2024
November 15 Update: the cat colony feeder charged with violating laws protecting endangered species appeared in court. The judge denied a motion to dismiss filed by the defendant’s public defender, which argued that the citation lacked specificity about how feeding Nēnē constituted “taking” under the law. The court ruled that the citation was sufficient and allowed the case to proceed.
The defendant, Doreen M. Torres, entered a plea of Not Guilty and formally requested a jury trial. Previous discussions about resolving the case through an endangered species course did not lead to an agreement, and the prosecution is moving forward. The first pretrial conference is scheduled for November 27, 2024, and the case remains active.
September 6 Update: The cat colony feeder who was charged with harming Nene is set to be back in court this month. On May 1, 2024, Doreen M. Torres was cited for allegedly violating laws protecting endangered species. The case was filed on May 6, 2024, in the Hilo division of Hawaii’s Third Circuit Court. During her first court appearance on June 21, 2024, she was assigned a public defender, and the case was delayed. At a July 19 hearing, it was discussed that Torres might take a class on endangered species as part of resolving the case. Her next court date is scheduled for September 20, 2024, and the case remains ongoing.
Given the media attention surrounding the deceased gosling at Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens on Hawaiʻi Island, we believe it is important to provide additional context to the community. The nēnē parents involved, banded 595 and NTC, are some of the most sighted birds in our dataset and therefore we are uniquely positioned to share insights to help deepen the public understanding of what happened. You may also remember NTC as the mother of the gosling that was taken by Meiqin Chen and put into an onion bag in March of 2023.
In late 2023, our team detected signs of seasonal nesting behavior from the pair of nēnē. This involves using our own data and community contributed sightings to identify abnormal movements. On December 28, we confirmed that NTC was nesting at Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens.
We continued to monitor the site during the incubation period and documented the hatching of one gosling on February 8th. Over the next month, we received regular updates from over 20 community members, who played a vital role in helping us track this nēnē family. Many reports raised concerns about inappropriate interactions, including people getting too close and children chasing the gosling. The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement (DOCARE) and Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) worked with Hawaiʻi County Parks & Recreation to increase signage at Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens. The DOFAW was able to get the signs made but it took the Parks Department over two weeks to get them installed. By that time the gosling had already been found dead. Additional concerns involved the presence of off-leash dogs, cats, and mongooses, as well as two instances of the nēnē family consuming cat food. When we contacted DOCARE for an update on the cat feeding issue they deferred to the DOFAW.
On March 5, 2024, someone reported hearing the adult nēnē vocalizing and found the gosling deceased. DOFAW biologist Raymond McGuire was able to respond, collect the gosling and send it to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center for a necropsy (animal autopsy). Per USGS the final diagnosis for the cause of death was Toxoplasmosis. We provide an in-depth discussion of toxoplasmosis on our threats page. Cats are the only definitive hosts for this parasite in Hawaiʻi, which has been responsible for the deaths of a variety of native species, including ʻalalā (Hawaiian crows), spinner dolphins, false killer whales, and Hawaiian monk seals.
While it is well-known that a feral cat colony exists at Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens, addressing this issue proves to be highly polarizing. In Hawaiʻi, attempts to manage feral cats often face strong animosity, making progress seem daunting. Our experiences with cat colony managers during the events at Queen’s Marketplace underscore these challenges. We hope to circumvent much of that backlash and focus on solutions that can benefit both conservation efforts and feral cats. We support legislation aimed at reducing pet abandonment, which includes requiring spaying/neutering for cats older than three months and mandatory microchipping. Additionally, we advocate to make it illegal to feed feral cats on Hawaiʻi County property to prevent the misconception that abandoned cats will be cared for.
How can you help?
- Sign the petition to have the county pass legislation to reduce cat abandonment.
- Contact DLNR on Hawaii Island and request that they take action to prevent more native species from being affected by feral cat colonies.
- Use our CatMap tool to report feral colonies and help us better estimate cat distribution and population size across Hawaiʻi.
Media Coverage
Star Advertiser – State, Hawaii County address feral cat problem after nene’s death
Star Advertiser – Woman cited for feeding nene at Hilo park where gosling died
Hawaiʻi Tribune Herald – Nene gosling likely died from disease carried by feral cats
Hawaiʻi Tribune Herald – Parks and Rec, DLNR work to address issue of cat colonies at park where nene died
Hawaiʻi Tribune Herald –Death of nene gosling likely caused by disease carried by feral cats
Spectrum News – Nene gosling on Hawaii Island likely died from toxoplasmosis
Hawaiʻi Public Radio – Community invited to submit feral cat sightings to help protect native species
