Animals

A joint Senate committee has passed a resolution on Monday that would help identify cats and dogs killed on Hawai‘i roadways.

According to the Pew Research Center, most pet owners today consider their pets as much a part of their family as a human member. It's those kinds of changes that prompted The Conversation to check in with Hawaiʻi Island dog trainer and dog psychologist Carl Oguss.

A new state Department of Agriculture rule aims to stop the spread of little fire ants on Oʻahu. The department this week announced it will impose quarantines on areas infested with the invasive ant species.

A recent study from University of Hawaiʻi researcher Steven Minaglia, a channel swimmer himself, found a striking association between cookiecutter shark bites and moonless nights. Speaking to The Conversation's Maddie Bender, Minaglia said he's going to keep a close eye on swimmers for recurring patterns.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers have advanced a measure to bolster a native fish hatchery program in Waiʻanae that would produce pua, or juvenile mullet, for fishponds and stock enhancement. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

The Conversation spoke with Michelle Bogardus of the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Service, and Rachel Kingsley of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project and the ʻAlalā Project.

Supporters say the bill would hold dog owners accountable and allow the police to remove a dangerous dog. Critics argue that determination should be made in a court of law.

A nearly 100-year mystery has finally been solved. How did a bee from Australia manage to establish itself 2,000 miles away in Polynesia? The Conversation talked to lead study author James Dorey of the University of Wollongong.

World Whale Day was started on Maui back in 1980 by the late Greg Kaufman of the Pacific Whale Foundation to draw attention to the magnificent creatures and the dangers they encounter. The Conversation talked with the foundation’s lead scientist, Jens Currie, as well as Ed Lyman of NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Off the coast of Lahaina, researchers are on the lookout for humpback whales that come to the islands every year around this time to breed. HPR contributor Adia White joined a Whale Trust crew on their new boat to find and record a special whale song. Both of the nonprofit's research vessels were moored in the Lahaina harbor the day the August wildfire swept through.