Why are short-tailed shearwaters endangered?

Short-tailed shearwaters are found sick and emaciated with bellies full of microplastics, and are deviating from their migration routes due to environmental changes.

What is the cross-cultural project to save shearwaters about?

Indigenous rangers from Australia and Alaska are collaborating to combine ancestral and scientific knowledge to study the shearwaters' migration and threats.

How are Indigenous rangers tracking the shearwaters?

The rangers are catching and tagging the birds with tiny sensors and tags to gather data on their migration patterns and behaviors.

Home / Environment / Indigenous knowledge unites to save endangered shearwaters

Indigenous knowledge unites to save endangered shearwaters

26 Apr

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Summary

Shearwaters are dying from microplastics, deviating from migration routes.
Indigenous rangers in Australia and Alaska collaborate on a research project.
The project combines scientific and ancestral knowledge to track shearwaters.

Indigenous knowledge unites to save endangered shearwaters

Indigenous rangers in Australia and Alaska are collaborating on a vital knowledge-sharing project to ensure the survival of the short-tailed shearwater. These migratory birds, known as yowli to the Wudjari Noongar people and muttonbirds to others, are facing unprecedented threats.

First Nations peoples on both coasts have observed alarming declines, with birds washing ashore sick and emaciated, their stomachs filled with microplastics instead of food. They are also veering off their established 15,000 km migration routes in search of sustenance.