Soon the Only Place to See This Nearly Extinct Bird May Be on Samoan Currency:

            The national bird of the island country, Samoa, is quickly going extinct. This ground-dwelling pigeon is featured on the countries’ 50 sene coin and 20 tālā banknote. In Samoa, the bird is called the Manumea; it is 30 centimeters long and closely resembles the extinct Dodo bird. Not much else is known about the flightless bird, a major downfall for the protection of the species. In recent years, the population of the Manumea has been reduced to only one in known existence. Their numbers used to fly a little above 7,000. It is unclear to what has reduced the population so quickly, with theories blaming forest-flattening cyclones, invasive rats and cats, and possibly even hunting. But not enough is known about the bird’s lifestyle to accurately deduce the populations’ inhibitor. Without enough funding from the poor country to study and save the bird though, Phd student, Rebecca Stirnemann, does not know what will happen to the beautiful Manumea. Meaningful birds like these, along with any other animal, deserve an effort for their continuation. I think this is a depressing story; but there is still hope. Scientists should keep searching for the tiny birds to study and help live.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2013/10/16/samoa-manumea/