A tabby by any other name: In Hawaii, a debate over what鈥檚 wild
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Noelle Swan Deputy Daily Editor
| Honolulu
It鈥檚 just after 7 p.m. and the mists hovering over Kuli驶ou驶ou Ridge have taken on an eerie bluish gray in the twilight. The Hawaii Kai Park and Ride is empty, of cars anyway.聽Commuters have picked up their cars and the family selling lychees and pickled mangoes from the back of their hatchback has gone home. But the lot鈥檚 evening residents have begun to arrive.
Scattered throughout the parking lot, one ... two ... three dozen cats lope and lounge across parking spaces, curbs, and strips of grass. A pair of black and white tuxedo cats keep careful watch from atop a stone wall, while tabbies, bobtails, and grey Chartreux claim swaths of pavement.
These are the cats of Hawaii Kai, a residential area in Honolulu. No one knows exactly how many unclaimed cats roam the island of Oahu. Everyone seems to agree that the most commonly used figure of 300,000 is likely an underestimate. What鈥檚 harder to agree on is how to refer to these cats. Whether they are wild, free roaming, or feral is a matter of perspective.
Why We Wrote This
What does it mean to be wild? In Hawaii, blurred boundaries between pets and wildlife have been a source of tension, even as residents find common ground in preserving the islands鈥� unique ecosystem.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 use feral,鈥� says Stephanie Kendrick, public policy advocate for the Hawaiian Humane Society in Honolulu. 鈥淎 subset of these animals were born outside of homes and they are generally not handleable. But a lot of them, the vast majority of them, are abandoned pets.鈥�
The typical categories of pets and wildlife don鈥檛 seem to hold much sway here. Part of the islands鈥� allure is the chance to see exotic marine life up close, in their natural habitat. Biodiversity has become a kind of currency and industries have sprung up around snorkeling with sea turtles and swimming with dolphins. At the same time, residents have grown accustomed to living alongside a menagerie of farm animals gone wild.
鈥淭wo different conversations鈥�
This blurring of boundaries among people, pets, and wildlife has been a source of tension, even among animal lovers.聽
The cats are a particular point of contention. Many residents adore them, and have even adopted entire colonies. (The colony in Hawaii Kai has been managed by volunteers for many years.)聽But the cats pose problems for other wildlife, including several endangered species of birds.
鈥淭he tricky thing about Hawaii is that it is such a unique ecosystem,鈥� says Joshua Atwood, invasive species coordinator for the Department of Land and Natural Resources. 鈥淪pecies that evolved here evolved without land predators. So a ground nesting bird has almost no defenses against a cat.鈥澛�
Marine scientists worry that the cats are carriers for toxoplasma, a parasite that is deadly to endangered Hawaiian monk seals.聽
Some scientists and residents have advocated for an official culling of the stray cat population. The Hawaiian Humane Society maintains that neutering and spaying programs are the only appropriate means of population control.聽
鈥淭hese are domestic animals,鈥� says Ms. Kendrick of the Humane Society. 鈥淭hey would not be in the community if we didn鈥檛 put them there.鈥�
Both sides bring an intense compassion for animals to this debate. But they are talking on two different wavelengths.
鈥漈he problem is that everyone is right to a degree,鈥澛爏ays Charles Littnan, director of the protected species division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 鈥淏ut聽we鈥檙e having two different conversations.鈥�
Wildlife within reach
When it comes to marine life, many residents and advocates worry that tourists are loving these creatures to death.聽
Tourists flock to areas where they can get so close to wildlife that they can literally reach out and touch them. At Hanauma Bay, an iconic reef that draws some 3,000 snorkelers per day, staff implore visitors not to pet the sea turtles or step on the fragile corals.聽But for many tourists the urge to do so is strong.
Exploiting that desire, some tour companies bring gaggles of tourists to swim with dolphins while they sleep. On Oahu鈥檚 North Shore, motorists routinely stop traffic to glimpse sea turtles basking or nesting on Laniakea Beach.
Some citizens have taken it upon themselves to protect these creatures from onlookers. On Oahu, a team of 96 volunteers takes turns staking out the beach to keep tourists from getting too close.
A similar band of citizen scientists patrols the beaches for monk seals, which often haul themselves up onto the sand to bask in the sun.聽These volunteers perform a 鈥渧ital function,鈥� says Dr. Littnan, who previously led NOAA鈥檚 Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program.聽
鈥淭hey become experts, first responders, and the primary outreach workers ensuring the safety of these animals,鈥� he says.
The cats too have angels looking out for them.聽Some residents leave food out for a neighborhood stray or two. Others have organized into groups that manage colonies, supplying food and coordinating trap, neuter, and release events.聽
鈥淭hey鈥檙e living beings, too鈥�
At the Hawaii Kai Park and Ride, it soon becomes clear what has drawn the animals to this particular spot as a pair of headlights sweeps across the lot and a couple and their 5-year-old son pile out of the car.
The little boy runs toward the cats shouting 鈥淗ere, kitty!鈥� as his father heaves a 30-pound bag of dry cat food out of the trunk of the family CR-V. He聽tips the bag and drags it across the parking lot, leaving a length of kibble a couple dozen feet long.
The family isn鈥檛 part of the group that manages this particular colony. But they make a point to pick up food for the cats every time they go to the Costco across the street.
As for why they do it, 鈥淚 just feel so bad for the cats,鈥� the man says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e living beings, too.鈥�
