The Laysan crake was initially threatened by the habitat destruction caused by rabbits and guinea pigs that were introduced by guano diggers. The rabbits ate the entire vegetation cover on Laysan Island, leaving a dusty terrain that prompted the extinction of several endemic species and subspecies, as it reduced the availability of insect prey. The Laysan crake went extinct on Laysan Island in the 1920s. However, it had already been introduced to the Midway Atoll in 1891, and following its eradication on Laysan, plans were set in motion to introduce it, along with the Laysan finch, to several of the main islands of Hawaii and to reintroduce it to Laysan Island. However, concerns over the possibility that the Laysan finch might prove to be a pest elsewhere halted the move of both species. The Laysan crake remained on Midway Atoll only until the Second World War, when in 1943, a US Navy landing craft drifted ashore, releasing black rats on to the island. The rats preyed upon the crake and within two years it was extinct (2). Before the extinction of the Laysan crake, its previous habitat on Laysan Island had been fully restored, and the rabbits eradicated (3).
This bird is now classified as extinct (1).
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View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
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