Dog attack? A seven-year-old Laysan Albatross is found dead on Kauai

A Laysan Albatross lies dead below a warning sign aimed to protect breeding seabirds

ACAP Latest News has previously reported on the depredations of Layan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis by stray and unleashed dogs on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in the past (click here) but the problem still continues.

The latest reported victim o a dog attack is of a seven-year old bird  found at Pila Beach on Kauai's north shore thtatwas banded as a chick in 2019 and thought to be a non-breeder according to Hob Osterlund.

Jeanine Meyers, who lives in nearby Princeville on the island, has written on Facebook about the incident: “I am at the site of a dead albatross report we got this morning [17 February 2026].  I found this beautiful soul right under the Seabird Nesting Area sign which states “Keep dogs on leash at all times.”  This is the reason why!  It only takes a few seconds for a dog to grab it by the neck and shake it, thus snapping the neck and killing the bird.  It is the dog’s instinct, but it’s human responsibility to leash your pet.  Don’t be a donkey, leash your dogs!”

Kauai is one the few places where albatrosses breed on an inhabited island, placing them at risk to free-roaming pet dogs, and their chicks to feral cats and pigs, the latter which also take eggs.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 25 February 2026