Hidetoshi (Mikey) Kudo: Keen environmentalist cares for rare mangrove blooming in Cairns

One of the world’s most critically endangered mangroves is flowering in Cairns after a passionate environmentalist dedicated his time to looking after it.

From a career translating documents in one of the world’s busiest cities to watching the mangroves grow in Cairns, Hidetoshi (Mikey) Kudo has had what could be called a major sea change.

And it is now paying huge dividends with a brighter future for one of the world’s most critically endangered plants.

Haines’s Orange Mangrove (Bruguiera hainesii) is one of the rarest mangroves in the world and has been listed as critically endangered under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.

Cairns man Hidetoshi Kudo has successfully propagated a rare mangrove, of which only 50 are known in Australia. The Haines's Orange Mangrove trees, or the Bruguiera hainesii species, is beginning to flower on the banks of Saltwater Creek in Edge Hill. Picture: Brendan Radke

Hidetoshi found a stand of the trees, 49 in total, growing on Chinaman Creek seven years ago. It was potentially the only stand in the country although the species does grow in limited areas in Southeast Asia.

Like any good plantsman he collected seeds, and with the assistance of Cairns Botanic Gardens got them growing.

“For the purposes of conservation, science and education, the propagules (mangrove seeds) of Haines’s Orange Mangrove were planted on the saltwater section of Centenary Lakes in March 2017 with the help and support of the Cairns Botanic Gardens,” he said.

“Now one of the trees has reached 1.8 metres and is flowering.

“There are two more buds coming along and we have a good chance of seeing more flowers of this extremely rare mangrove within the confines of the Gardens.”

Mikey studied a diploma in environmental conservation after coming to Australia with his Australian wife.

“I’m a keen naturalist and I love plants and animals,” he said.

“I started making a list of mangroves in the Cairns area, and we found some species outside

Cairns that aren’t growing here.”

Haines's Orange Mangrove, now flowering at Centenary Lake. It is on the Critically Endangered Red List under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Picture: Hidetoshi Kudo

He did not just stumble upon them either. Locating rare or unusual species required painstaking work checking tree canopies on aerial photographs.

The more he looked at aerial shots the more he was able to distinguish rare or unusual stands of trees, and he would circle those requiring further investigation.

So it was the pictures that led him to Chinaman Creek, where he found the 49 Haines Orange Mangroves, potentially Australia’s entire population.

“They could be somewhere else but we don’t know,” he said.

“I needed help from botanic gardens, because mangroves normally grow in the intertidal area, but these ones are quite special, they are actually inland a bit.”

Six years after the trees were planted out the first one is now in bloom.

“We planted 15 trees and we lost some of them, but we now we have nine trees, and the tallest, flowering now, is 1.8m.

“We were expecting we would have flowers in 10 years, but the other day I visited and they were flowering.”

Cairns man Hidetoshi Kudo says he “loves mangroves”. Picture: Brendan Radke

Dr Norm Duke, a world leader in mangrove science, said it was wonderful that a critically endangered species was being monitored and cared for in the Cairns region.

“I am also glad to hear that Hidetoshi and others are interested in its breeding system and reproductive efficiency,” he said.

“Such knowledge is essential to the preservation and better management of this rare species.”

The flowering tree is in a fenced site 40 metres north of the wooden bridge along the eastern edge of the Saltwater Lake.

As well as watching plants, Hidetoshi is a keen birdwatcher.

“But mangroves were new to me and I didn’t know much about them,” he said.

“And I love mangroves.”

Originally published as Hidetoshi (Mikey) Kudo: Keen environmentalist cares for rare mangrove blooming in Cairns