Director of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti says conservationists are currently searching for the ‘Kulawai’ bird, once a common sight.

This bird, with its red throat and vibrant green plumage, was found on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Ovalau, and Taveuni but was last seen in 1993.

Nunia Thomas-Moko notes that about 2,000 bird species have gone extinct over the years, with climate change being a significant factor.

In 2013, the Reserve Bank of Fiji released a Fauna and Flora series of banknotes to promote Fiji’s unique heritage, featuring the Kulawai on the five-dollar note.

“We have been searching for it, our members have funded all the events that have allowed us to search for it, we hope that it’s not extinct and a story that we continue to tell is that we don’t want our money and our dollar notes to be the only place that our children will see these animals, we want them to see in the wild.”

Thomas-Moko emphasizes the urgent need for enhanced nature-based conservation to combat the drastic impacts of climate change on wildlife.