Embedded Files
03/18/25 - Biologist Martin Kastner photographed the first-ever documented sihek mating in the wild in nearly 40 years. Mames, a male, and Långet, a female, are two of the nine sihek released on Palmyra Atoll in September 2024 and were seen mating in the last week.
“It could mean we will be seeing eggs fairly soon. Often, if you see mating between a pair of birds, it could mean eggs are coming in a matter of days or perhaps weeks,” Kastner, who is originally from Canada but has lived in Guam for a decade, said in a Zoom interview with Marianas Press on Monday.
He said now they are on “egg watch” with other biologists. Kastner noted that prior observations of sihek in captivity indicated that sihek do not lay fertile eggs before the age of 11 months. Mames and Långet are around 8 months old.
“Even if they do lay eggs, we should all keep our hopes a little bit realistic in terms of them actually being fertile and having our first sihek babies in the wild in nearly 40 years, but still it feels like a really amazing and exciting moment,” Kastner said.
Krastner has been on Palmyra Atoll since February and is helping monitor the birds with a team of biologists on the ground. He is on a short-term contract with the Zoological Society of London and The Nature Conservancy.
-----
Story by Thomas Manglona II
Report abuse