The Mariana Fruit Dove, I Tetot

Known in Chamorro as totot, the Mariana fruit dove was another bird that was once common on Guam.
It was the territorial bird of Guam, but has been replaced by the ko'ko' (Guam rail).

Like most medium-sized birds on Guam, the totot was a food source to the people, but also was kept as a house pet and were used for recreational purposes.

This is why we need birds on Guam. It connects us to those before our time. The birds all have stories behind them, culturally and scientifically.

The first time I saw a totot was at the Honolulu Zoo in 2011. I was walking viewing the Nēnē and heard a faint sound of a dove. I walked up to the cage, and there it was, a lonely fruit dove in the cage adjacent to the kookaburra cage. The bird came out of hiding and approached me (surprisingly).

I hope that another pair gets sent to the zoo for all to see and become aware of invasive species problems on Guam, and to the potential problems of invasive species entry in the CNMI, Hawaiʻi, and the rest of the Pacific Islands.

Support the native species in your area! Prutehi I Tano' Guåhan!