Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Can anything can be done about wild cockatoos on Tantalus? They make the most raucous noise I have ever heard. I think they are multiplying. There are also wild peacocks and wild chickens here. I called the fish and wildlife people, but they said they can't do anything about it. There ought to be someone to catch and put them in captivity. They're not native to Hawaii. Cockatoos in the wild
can be trapped, relocated"We are aware of (the cockatoos) and working on the situation," said David Smith, Oahu district wildlife manager for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Because they are considered valuable, some people, with the department's authorization, have been trying to trap them. They're not easy to trap, however.
In the past, the department has "just shot animals like that in the wild and had to sustain quite a bit of negative publicity," he said.
"We try (now) to resolve it in other ways."
His staff first noticed a bunch of cockatoos about six months ago. "I think someone may have let them go or they escaped," Smith said.
"They seem to fly a circuit in Makiki Valley," he said. "I've been seeing about three and, at one point, we were seeing seven on a regular basis. I'm not certain if (trappers) caught the other ones or they've dispersed."
The birds are about 18 to 24 inches tall and do make a lot of noise. "But it's all relative," Smith said. "Some people like the sounds of bird calls and some people don't."
Smith said he occasionally receives complaints about peacocks because "they can be very loud. If they go on private property, his office will issue wildlife control permits to trap the peacocks.
Cockatoos are not considered established in the wild, so they do not have wild-bird protection status. But peacocks are on the state protected bird list, Smith said.
Asked what happens to the peacocks when they're trapped, he said: "We've kind of run out of homes for them. At this point, some people get a permit just to shoot them. We'd have to consider each request on a case-by-case basis."
As for the cockatoos, "people have suggested it (shooting them), but we're trying to go the capture-and-relocate route."
The problem is that they eat fruits and vegetation.
"There are wild populations of parrot and cockatoo species spreading on Oahu," Smith said. "That's always been a concern for wildlife managers and the agriculture industry as well, because they can be very destructive."
If readers spot cockatoos in the wild in other areas, call Smith's office at 973-9786.
I just heard that at Costco and other places that hand out food samples, people handing out food are not required to have TB clearances. That sounds unhealthy. Is that true? "We don't require a TB clearance anymore" for such food handlers, confirmed Brian Choy, state Department of Health sanitation chief.
That's because "TB is not passed by food handling," he said.
Although the state requires food handlers in restaurants to have at least one TB clearance, that requirement doesn't apply to those handling food for fewer than 15 days, such as those passing out samples or working in carnivals, another health department official said.
And that one required clearance could have been given 10 years ago. The date of clearance doesn't matter, she said.
Choy said if you have concerns about the health of the people passing out the food, you should speak to the store manager.
It's up to employers to make sure workers do not have any illness that can be passed on by food, Choy said.
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