S.C.S. asks public to report any sighting of the Manumea

After a sighting of a Manumea in Uafato last week in Uafato, the Samoa Conservation Society (S.C.S.) has asked the public to report any sighting of the bird to them.

In response to Eyespy Radio queries, S.C.S. Manumea Expert Sefuiva Moeumu Uili said that one adult Manumea was spotted at the western side of Uafato forest towards Tiavea Tai by one of their teams.

"Vocal calls were both heard on the west and south sides by both teams and were interestingly heard around the same time of the day from 6am and again at around 11am. The weather was not quite helpful during the survey so we could be missing more interesting findings during the survey," Sefuiva told Eyespy Radio.

"Our findings tell us conservation action is a priority now, we need to do something now and do it properly to save the remaining population in the wild. Enforcement on hunting pigeons in the wild in particular in the forests where they are being reported from especially at Uafato, they must be closely monitored with support by the communities.

She has asked the public to report any sightings to them but never attempt to capture the bird in fear of causing any harm that could cause stress.

"Uafato confirmed its ban on hunting pigeons in the wild and we can only ask for everyone's support to respect that for the sake of protecting our critically endangered Manumea, highly at risk of extinction," she said.

"There could be 2 or more Manumea in the Uafato forest today, but we dont if those two will be the last two that we have. Pigeons move around to habitats where it is safe to survive and where there is food to help it survive.

"So if we are protecting these two birds in Uafato and later in the year they move again because of food scarcity and if they get shot down accidently somewhere else in Samoa, then we know we have failed to protect what is truly ours to be proud of.

Sefuiva added that the target is to concentrate efforts to find the bird and secure its natural habitat for protection and continue to find more birds

They will also work together with landowners and communities to promote protection in their natural habitats.

"Options for bringing the bird in captivity is significant to enhance efforts to save the remaining population and learning more about its biology is another technique that we are exploring however still more needs to be done beforehand," she said.