In 1894, a German immigrant named Max Schlemmer arrived on Kauō to head the island’s rich guano mines. He was interested in the native flora and fauna, contributing information about the island’s bird species to the scientific community, but that did not stop him from his drive for profits. He sold mining rights to a Japanese businessman, who directed him to export bird feathers; Schlemmer and a Japanese crew slaughtered about 300,000 native birds for this venture.
He also hoped to start a canned meat business and released rabbits, hares, and guinea pigs onto the island so they could breed and provide meat. But the rabbits decimated the island’s plant life, leading to the extinctions of the Laysan rail (a small flightless bird), the Laysan millerbird, the Laysan palm, and, shown in the portrait above, the Laysan weevil.
