Extinct
There are no longer any Akialoa left, the entire genus is extinct. this one, the O'ahu is part of a group of 3 greater akialoa. The other two were the Kaua'i and the Maui. Along with those there was the lesser a'kialoa which went extinct in 1940, and then 3 others which went extinct in prehistoric times. The O'ahu was considered common into the late 1800's. The last possible sighting was February 19, 1939 but it is not a confirmed sighting so they may well have gone extinct before then. They died out due to deforestation and being quite susceptible to avian malaria. They were mostly insectivores, using their beaks to get insects from under bark though they also would get nectar from flowers.
Some day I will be able to go to Hawaii. One of my best friends lives over there and I would dearly love to see her. I don't see me wanting to swim or do anything typically touristy. Mostly, I'll want to go photograph animals and landscape. Ok, I would swim if I knew I might see an octopus, but I'd rather not. I'd be happy getting to go to some very out of the way spot and just sitting there for a long time waiting for some rare bit of wildlife to show up. I don't like the idea of there being insects or snakes that might be a problem for me with my bitey/stingy allergies hanging out with me while I wait for interesting stuff to show up, but if I've gotten an epi pen again by then I would hopefully be ok. I've never been stung before, we just known I'm allergic from having been tested. I live dangerously without an epi pen because they are expensive, and because I'm most likely not going to die the first time I do get stung. Your reaction usually gets worse with each sting. I figure my odds are pretty high that if I've made it this far without ever being stung, I could well make it the rest of my life without being stung too.
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