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Species Spotlight: Hawaiian Goose
When it was named the state bird in the late 1950s, the Hawaiian goose (or nene) was on the verge of extinction. Habitat loss, hunting and predation from introduced animals such as mongoose, dogs and cats had reduced the fowl’s numbers from an estimated 25,000 before European contact to a mere 30.
Protection of the nene’s unusual volcanic habitat on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai and Molokai along with an end to hunting (which, until 1907, occurred during the bird’s unique winter breeding season) helped halt the goose’s slide to annihilation. A restoration program begun in 1949 by government and private entities helped the creature to rebound, and its numbers in the wild are now approximately 1,300.
Despite its similarities to the Canada goose, the nene is a true Hawaiian down to its toes. Partly because they lacked natural predators on the islands, the birds evolved to become semi-terrestrial and nonmigratory. Since nene spend less time in water and need traction on the hardened lava, their feet are not completely webbed as in other geese, and they have longer toes. Researchers believe the bird’s Hawaiian name derives from one of its calls, a sound akin to a murmuring “nay-nay.”
