Question: Any recent news about the bird that escaped from the Honolulu Zoo? Around Labor Day I saw it flying deep into Manoa Valley. I thought it was a condor. My son thought it was a pterodactyl. My wife thought it was the zoo escapee. Where we saw it last, nobody was going to capture it. Do you know what his diet consists of?
Answer: African ground hornbills are omnivores. In the wild they eat fruit, large insects and small animals, using their picklike bills to subdue prey as as large as rabbits. Before he went missing from the Honolulu Zoo in February, the hornbill Najuma had been fed Bird of Prey, a commercially produced diet, and dead chicks, according to the zoo’s website.
The zoo continues to follow up reported sightings. Recent callers have mistaken frigate birds for Najuma, said zoo Director Linda Santos.
“The Honolulu Zoo has received several reports of people who say they saw the Najuma, and this is the first sighting we have received from the Manoa area. We sent photos to the individuals and it turned out not to be the bird. We are still very interested in any new sightings, and will have staff go out and investigate when we receive such a report. Since this is seabird season, there’s a lot of confusion regarding seabirds or the frigate bird, which is large and similar in color. We ask the public to take a photo of their sighting if possible, even from a distance, since we can possibly make out if the shape and size is similar to the hornbill. Also, flight is not easy for large hornbills and it does not soar like the frigate bird.
“Members of the public who believe they have spotted Najuma can email the Honolulu Zoo Society at info@honzoosoc.org, message the Honolulu Zoo on our Facebook page, or call the zoo directly at 971-7171 to talk to someone during operating hours, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.”
Najuma escaped from the zoo Feb. 10, after a storm damaged his enclosure. The bird was seen in Kapiolani Park and around Diamond Head soon after but was not recaptured.
Q: Regarding potholes, what if it’s on a state highway?
A: Call the state Highways Division hotline at at 536-7852 and leave a clear, detailed message describing the exact location, and your contact information. To answer another reader’s question, no, the city does not maintain all roads on Oahu. Find a list of those maintained by the state or Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation at 808ne.ws/roadjur.
Auwe
Auwe to the woman who gave me the middle finger. I was waiting at a stoplight of an intersection to make a left turn. All of a sudden the woman, who was yelling at someone on her cellphone, began walking in the crosswalk, not knowing or not caring that the light was green for oncoming traffic. As she got midway in the crosswalk, I honked my horn. She immediately stopped and turned to me and flipped the bird, at the same time a van drove right by, almost hitting her. Auwe. — J.M.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the city street cleaner drivers who swept the gutters along the Monsarrat Avenue corridor between the Waikiki Shell and the Honolulu Zoo on Saturday night prior to the marathon, and again on Sunday night after the race, making the street clean and tidy! Mahalo also to the elderly guy who picked up litter along the sidewalks on both Saturday and Sunday nights, which the street cleaner machines could not get! — E.K.
Mahalo
To the nursing staff, sixth floor, Straub Hospital on Ward Avenue: I can’t thank you enough for the care I received during my recent one-week hospitalization. What a fabulous staff, caring with a sense of humor. I wish I could remember you all by name. — Derek P.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
