Flight of the Sihek: Guam native raises awareness (Part 7)

Tatiana Ananich told KUAM, "...because we are limited in the physical actions that we can take to help these birds. It's good to acknowledge that awareness is still a really big part of conservation. And so just keeping up with this project, learning as much as you can and sharing that with your friends and family, because, you know, if you call these places home, so do these native species. And if anybody's going to care about their well-being, it should be us."

22-year-old Tatiana Ananich devoted her summer under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Directorate Fellowship Program as a Sihek Outreach Specialist. 

She added, "So my main objectives this summer were to reinvigorate a cultural bond between the Sihek and the local community because it's been extinct in the wild for so long. I learned that I had to reintroduce this bird to a lot of community members. A lot of people aren't familiar with it anymore. So that was the first step in the goals that this project required. And then also informing them about the Sihek release program that is set to happen next spring 2024."

As she wraps up her role, the UOG undergrad studying communications and public relations will graduate this year. As she prepares for her next chapter, she still carries hope that others will learn to love the Sihek and maybe one day see it thrive in the wild on Guam again. 

She said, "So even if you're not originally from here, if you have moved here and call this place home. I just think we are the ideal, ideal community to care about it because they are native to here, endemic actually. So historically, they were only ever found on Guam. And that in and of itself is just amazing. I think everybody on the island should care about it."