Tuesday is Nene Awareness Day, signed into law by Gov. Linda Lingle. “The Hawaiian goose is a prime example of a species which came back from the brink of extinction,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services biologist Brenda Zaun. “We
Tuesday is Nene Awareness Day, signed into law by Gov. Linda Lingle.
“The Hawaiian goose is a prime example of a species which came back from the brink of extinction,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services biologist Brenda Zaun. “We often take them for granted here on Kaua‘i because we see so many of them.”
Zaun oversees the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, home to the bulk of Kaua‘i’s nene population.
The nene is the only one of at least five species of endemic geese still alive today, and the vast majority can be found right here on Kaua‘i.
“We have about half — 700 to 800 — of the total nene in the world,” Zaun said. “The population onathe other islands are struggling just to stay stable.”
It’s actually been a reversal of fortune, of sorts: In the 1950’s their were only about 30 birds left on Kaua‘i. Only the Big Island had nene remaining. O‘ahu and the other Neighbor Islands had lost them due to hunting, loss of habitat and predators.
“They thrive today on the refuges due to the monitoring and protection we provide,” Zaun said.
Nene Awareness Day at KPNWR will feature a kid’s activity sheet and magnet-making. A photographic display will relate the successful story of this endangered species at the refuge.
