Since an expert on invasive bird species began working at the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources early this year, 600 mynah birds which have become a menace on the island and threatening native species have been trapped.
Susana Saavedra Cruz arrived here early in the year and has been working with one assistant to construct traps for the birds.
She’s working with 10 volunteers who have offered their help to do the actual trapping.
The youngest volunteer is an 11-yr-old girl from Tafuna while others are from Kokoland and Iliili and one comes as far east as Tula.
Cruz is still looking for more volunteers and she is open to talk to any organizations or groups of people so she can do a demonstration of how the traps are made and how the birds are trapped.
She tells KHJ News the reports from her volunteers who have tried the traps in their neighborhoods are quite satisfying.
The volunteers say that the noise from these annoying winged creatures are hardly heard where as before the birds were so noisy.
Cruz says it’s important for the territory to reduce the myna bird population and in order for their efforts to make an impact many volunteers are needed to trap the mynas.
The invasive species expert says myna birds are quite aggressive and their rapid multiplication Is harmful to native fauna and birds.
According to DMWR, there were 5,000 myna birds in the territory in 2013.
