My Job Is Protecting Lāna‘i’s Wildlife

Pūlama Lāna‘i’s lead wildlife biologist Grazel Caceres helps protect the island’s endemic, and often endangered, animals and plants.

Name: Grazel Caceres
Job: Lead Wildlife Biologist
Company: Pūlama Lāna‘i

Grazel Caceres, the lead wildlife biologist for Pūlama Lāna‘i, says she and her team work in forests, on mountains and other terrain on Lāna‘i to establish and protect local wildlife so the animal and plant species can survive and flourish.

For example, they keep predators out of an area on Lāna‘i that is one of the most important remaining habitats for ‘ua‘u, an endemic and now endangered seabird also known as the Hawaiian petrel.

Caceres finds ‘ua‘u fascinating and loves their resilience and instinctive nature, and their biological and cultural history.

“They are long-lived birds – 35 years or more – and become lifetime nesting partners. They were useful for voyagers in navigation and were a food source for Hawaiian royalty. Their guano, or excrement, provides nitrogen in their colony areas, which is important for the health of our native forests,” says Caceres.

“They’re easy to study and protect for future generations to experience. It is part of our history that still exists.”

The ‘ua‘u tend to nest in burrows on steep slopes. Despite the challenges, Caceres and her team carefully examine their breeding habits and successful nest hatchings, and observe behavior and seasonal variations that can dictate breeding locations and migration patterns.

They also work with ‘ua‘u kani, better known as wedgetailed shearwater, kāhuli (the Hawaiian tree snail) and ‘īlio holo i ka uaua, the traditional name for Hawaiian monk seals, which translates to “dog that runs in rough water.” Caceres’ team conducts surveys and rehabilitation for those species and traps pests such as stray cats and rats.

Without the work of her and her team, Caceres says, many species might not survive on Lāna‘i.

Though Caceres and her team primarily work with native animals, they also support native plants. “They bring a lot of life to our island and play a big role in keeping our watershed healthy,” says Caceres. “They also provide good ground vegetation for ‘ua‘u.”

She has seen much damage to native habitats from invasive plants such as strawberry guava.

“This tree plant is fast-growing, difficult to control if not done properly, and collects so much of our water to feed itself. Out in the field, they will out-compete the native plants on the landscape,” she says.

Caceres wants everyone to know the impact that plants and animals have on local ecosystems and traditions. Preserving native species not only protects the land but provides connections to Hawaiian culture, roots and history.

“Every native plant or wildlife individual that you see out in the field tells a story because it had importance to the people that inhabited these islands. These resources were key components to survival and their way of life.”

Caceres wants local communities to learn about and participate in conservation and says youth can learn much from hands on exercises.

“Sharing our knowledge about our resources can take many forms, from hosting a formal presentation to just talking story about our work. Allowing youth to be present in the work we do gives them a chance to understand its importance.”

Caceres found her passion for conservation during a high school internship, when she helped remove invasive plants from native species’ habitats. During summers as a teenager, she worked for the conservation nonprofit Kupu and gained experience in habitat control and restoration, predator control, native wildlife monitoring, education and outreach.

“I learned why vegetation clearing and invasive species control was so important; not only to protect our watershed or keep it for the future generation to see, but to also protect and take care of all species that play a role in providing a healthy ecosystem,” she says. “Everything made sense to me.”

Today, she says, she loves seeing the seabirds grow in numbers, native plants flourish and reclaim habitats, and Hawaiian monk seal pups feed and then wean off their mothers. She loves the work, even when it means challenges like an exhausting hike on a humid day.

“I understand that our species are not abundant and without the proper care to protect them, they will likely become extinct. If we lose these species, we will also start to lose our connection to the land, the history that connects to the species that exist and the life that the island depends on.”