Hawaiian Geese Pair or Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis)
"Hey, did anyone read the sign? We prefer grasses, weedy plants, and berries. It is not pono (good) to feed us junk food!"
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Photographed at a roadside pull off near Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Nēnē are frequently sighted near this area due to people dumping rice and other food scraps in order to attract them. Unfortunately, this leads to the alteration of their diet and behavior, even causing death when they get hit by cars.
"The Nēnē is an inhabitant of shrubland, grassland, coastal dunes, and lava plains, and related anthropogenic habitats such as pasture and golf courses from sea level to as much as 2,400 m (7,900 ft). Some populations migrated between lowland breeding grounds and montane foraging areas."
"The Nēnē could at one time be found on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. Today, its range is restricted to Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi. A pair arrived at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oʻahu in January 2014; two of their offspring survived and are seen regularly on the nearby golf courses at Turtle Bay Resort." (Wikipedia)
"In 2019 the Nēnē population was estimated at 3,252 and the species was Federally down-listed from endangered to threatened. While this did remove some of the protections guaranteed by the Endangered Species Act, conservation efforts continue throughout Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i. Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge leads several of those efforts." www.fws.gov/story/2022-12/plight-nene
Update from the ICUN Red List is as follows:
"Hawaiian Goose Branta sandvicensis has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2021. Branta sandvicensis is listed as Near Threatened under criteria B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i)."
www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679929/194369606
Hawaiian Geese Pair or Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis)
"Hey, did anyone read the sign? We prefer grasses, weedy plants, and berries. It is not pono (good) to feed us junk food!"
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Photographed at a roadside pull off near Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Nēnē are frequently sighted near this area due to people dumping rice and other food scraps in order to attract them. Unfortunately, this leads to the alteration of their diet and behavior, even causing death when they get hit by cars.
"The Nēnē is an inhabitant of shrubland, grassland, coastal dunes, and lava plains, and related anthropogenic habitats such as pasture and golf courses from sea level to as much as 2,400 m (7,900 ft). Some populations migrated between lowland breeding grounds and montane foraging areas."
"The Nēnē could at one time be found on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. Today, its range is restricted to Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi. A pair arrived at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oʻahu in January 2014; two of their offspring survived and are seen regularly on the nearby golf courses at Turtle Bay Resort." (Wikipedia)
"In 2019 the Nēnē population was estimated at 3,252 and the species was Federally down-listed from endangered to threatened. While this did remove some of the protections guaranteed by the Endangered Species Act, conservation efforts continue throughout Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i. Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge leads several of those efforts." www.fws.gov/story/2022-12/plight-nene
Update from the ICUN Red List is as follows:
"Hawaiian Goose Branta sandvicensis has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2021. Branta sandvicensis is listed as Near Threatened under criteria B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v); C2a(i)."
www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679929/194369606