HAWAII FAUNA

Animals in Hawaii

Since Hawaii’s native fauna evolved in the absence of predators or competitors, they did not develop natural defenses such as thorns, poisons, or camouflage. When the first Polynesians arrived in Hawaii between 500 and 800 A.D., scientists say they found some 67 varieties of endemic Hawaiian birds, a third of which are now believed to be extinct.

They did not find any reptiles, amphibians, mosquitoes, lice, fleas, or even a cockroach. There were only two endemic mammals, the hoary bat and the monk seal. The hoary bat must have accidentally blown to Hawaii at some point, from either North or South America.

The Hawaiian monk seal, a relative of warm-water seals found in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, was nearly slaughtered into extinction for its skin and oil during the 19th century. These seals have recently experienced a minor population explosion.

Much of the fauna in Hawaii developed special adaptations to their new home and evolved into new species. Today, nearly 90 percent of the fauna in Hawaii are endemic, meaning that they exist nowhere else in the world.

Governmental agricultural inspections at points of entry aggressively work at keeping out unwanted species. Perhaps the best example is the fact that Hawaii has no indigent snakes and the few that can be found are under continuous eradication programs.

Hawaii has few native mammals and most of the islands’ interiors are inhabited by wild pigs, horses, sheep and goats brought by early settlers. It is on Maui that you are most likely to see the endangered nene goose and the rare silversword plant.

Maui is also known as the best island for viewing humpback whales on their yearly migration route to their birthing grounds. Kauai has the largest number of native bird species in Hawaii. It is the only major island free of mongoose, which prey upon the eggs of ground-nesting birds.

Of Hawaii’s two native mammals, the hoary bat lives at the Kokee State Park, while the Hawaiian monk seal occasionally hauls out and suns itself on some of the island’s more isolated beaches. Wild pigs, goats and black-tailed deer are non-native mammals that are hunted.

On the Big Island, wild horses roam in Waipio Valley, feral cattle graze on the slopes of Mauna Kea, while wild pigs, goats and sheep are found in the interior. Oahu has wild pigs and goats in its mountain valleys.

Brush-tailed rock-wallabies, accidentally released in 1916, reside in Kalihi Valley. Although rarely seen, the wallabies are of interest to zoologists because they may be an extinct subspecies in their native Australia.

More species of native birds have become extinct in Hawaii in the last 200 years than anywhere else on the planet. Of 67 native species, 23 are extinct and 30 are endangered. Even the Hawaiian crow, the alala, is threatened.

The aeo, or Hawaiian stilt – a 16-inch-long bird with a black head, black coat, white underside and long pink legs – can be found in protected wetlands, such as the Kanaha Wildlife Sanctuary on Maui (where it shares its natural habitat with the Hawaiian coot), the Kealia Pond on Maui and the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, which is also home to the Hawaiian duck.

The nene is Hawaii’s state bird. It’s being brought back from the brink of extinction through strenuous protection laws and captive breeding. The approximately 500 nene in existence can be seen in only three places: at Haleakala National Park on Maui, at Mauna Kea State Park bird sanctuary and on the slopes of Mauna Kea on the Big Island.

The only reptile worth of mentioning is the gecko, which is about four inches long and likes to live in people's houses. The gecko is harmless and the benefit of having one in one's house is that it eats cockroaches.

Approximately 680 species of fish are known to inhabit the waters around the Hawaiian Islands. Of those, approximately 450 species stay close to the reef and inshore areas. Of the approximately 450 types of reef fish here, about 27 percent are native to Hawaii and are found nowhere else in the world.

During the millions of years it took for the islands to sprout up from the sea, ocean currents – mainly from Southeast Asia – carried thousands of marine animals and plants to Hawaii’s reef. Of those, approximately 100 species adapted and thrived.

Moray and conger eels are the most common eels seen in Hawaii. Morays are usually docile except when provoked or when there’s food around. Unfortunately, some morays have been fed by divers and now associate divers with food. Thus, they can become aggressive.

Parrotfish, one of the largest and most colorful of the reef fish, can grow up to 40 inches long. They’re easy to spot – their front teeth are fused together, protruding like buck teeth that allow them to feed by scraping algae from rocks and coral.

The rocks and coral pass through the parrotfish’s system, resulting in fine sand. In fact, most of the white sand found in Hawaii is parrotfish waste. One large parrotfish can produce a ton of sand a year. Native parrotfish species include yellowbar, regal and spectacled.

Humpback whales are popular visitors who come to Hawaii to mate and calve every year, beginning in November and staying until spring (April or so), when they return to Alaska. On every island, you can take winter whale-watching cruises that will let you observe these magnificent leviathans up close.

You can also spot them from shore – humpbacks grow to up to 45 feet long, so when one breaches (jumps out of the water), you can see it for miles. Humpbacks are among the biggest whales found in Hawaiian waters, but other whales, such as pilot, sperm, false killer, melon-headed, pygmy killer and beaked, can be seen year-round, especially in the calm waters off the Big Island’s Kona Coast.

About 40 different species of sharks inhabit the waters surrounding Hawaii, ranging from the totally harmless whale shark, which has no teeth and is so docile that it frequently lets divers ride on its back, to the not-so-docile, extremely uncommon great white shark. The most commonly seen sharks in Hawaii are white-tip or gray reef sharks and black-tip reef sharks.