The fifth-largest island in Fiji, Gau (pronounced “Nau”) is part of the Lomaiviti archipelago, east of the country’s main island Viti Levu. With no fewer than 16 villages, it is where spiritual links are strongest to the Critically Endangered and little-known Fiji Petrel. Thought to reside underground high in the mountains, this elusive seabird is known locally as Kacau ni Gau.
Despite the cultural importance of this species being passed down through generations of Gau residents, the bird itself disappeared for more than a century after it was first discovered in the 1850s. Many thought it was extinct… until it was rediscovered in the 1980s. Even then, it took until 2009 for the species to be photographed at sea.
Original Article: Safeguarding Fiji’s elusive seabirds
