HONOLULU – Axis deer, a species native to India presented as a gift from Hong Kong to the king of Hawaii in 1868, have fed hunters and their families on the rural island of Molokai for generations.
But for the community of about 7,500, where self-sustainability is a way of life, the invasive deer are both a cherished food source and a danger to their island ecosystem.
Now, drought on Molokai has brought the problem into focus. Hundreds of deer have died from starvation, stretching thin the island’s limited resources.
The drought is among the island’s worst in recent memory and has been going on for nearly two years. “During the last wet season, which in Hawaii runs from October through April, it never pulled out of drought,” said U.S.