threats: The ʻApapane can be found on six of the eight windward Hawaiian islands, where it resides at high altitudes to protect itself from predators like small Asian mongooses, rats, and deadly avian malaria carrying mosquitoes. These predators are the cause of great declines in the ʻApapane population. The total population of the ʻApapane was estimated at more than 1,300,000 in 1995.[4] Although still low in numbers, the ʻApapane is not considered to be an endangered species. The species has the highest prevalence of avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum). This is because seasonal migrations to lower elevation forest put it in contact with mosquitoes, which are absent from the best ʻApapane habitat.[3] Malaria is a blood parasite, and death is usually cause by anemia, the loss of red blood cells.[5] Fowlpox (Poxvirus avium) is a virus lethal to ʻApapane, which, like avian malaria, is transmitted by mosquitoes. Fowlpox causes wart-like lesions to form around the bird's eyes, beak, legs, or feet, inhibiting feeding, seeing, or perching.[6] Birds infected with fowlpox are more at risk to be infected with malaria.[3] It is believed that at least a small portion of the population is becoming resistant to malaria, as some pairs have been seen breeding in mid-elevation forests where the rate of malaria transmission is high.
