Every week, a helicopter at Maui airport is loaded with 250,000 male mosquitoes, crucial for combating avian malaria. The mosquitoes are airdropped into high-elevation forests to protect endangered birds. Native birds are threatened by avian malaria from introduced mosquitoes, with only 17 species of Hawaiian honeycreepers remaining.
As temperatures rise, mosquitoes are advancing into the birds' last refuge above 4,000-5,000 feet. A coalition is using modified mosquitoes to suppress the mosquito population and save endangered birds, employing a strategy borrowed from public health departments for wildlife conservation for the first time.
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