Hawaiian Goose (Nēnē) — 700L
The Hawaiian goose, called the nēnē, is Hawaiʻi’s state bird. It lives on lava fields, grasslands, and shrublands on several islands. Unlike many geese, the nēnē spends most of its time on land. Its feet have less webbing and stronger toes, which help it walk on rough lava.
Nēnē eat grasses, leaves, and berries, including the bright ʻŌhelo fruit. They nest in the cooler months, often between November and March. Parents protect the nest, and the goslings can walk and feed themselves soon after hatching.
By the mid-1900s the nēnē almost disappeared because of hunting, habitat loss, and predators such as mongooses, cats, and dogs. People worked to save the species by raising birds in protected areas, moving them to safe places, and controlling predators. Today their numbers have risen, but nēnē still need safe spaces and careful driving near nesting sites.
The nēnē is important in Hawaiian culture and reminds people to care for native wildlife. Seeing a family of nēnē walking over black lava rock shows how animals can adapt to a special island home.
Hawaiian Goose (Nēnē) — 950L
The nēnē (Branta sandvicensis) is the world’s rarest goose and Hawaiʻi’s state bird—a land-leaning relative of the Canada goose that evolved for island life. Over generations, its webbing diminished and its toes strengthened, an adaptation that trades swimming efficiency for confident footing on broken lava and coarse grasses. Nēnē pairs graze on native sedges, grasses, and berries such as ʻŌhelo, dispersing seeds as they move across upland slopes.
Unlike many migratory geese, nēnē make short, seasonal movements rather than long continental flights. Breeding typically falls in the cool, wet months. The clutch is small, and the goslings are precocial—mobile and capable of feeding soon after hatching—yet still dependent on vigilant parents for warmth and protection. Their low, conversational calls carry over cinder and meadow, a reminder that social bonds matter in open country where cover is scarce.
By the mid-20th century, fewer than a few dozen nēnē remained. Hunting, habitat conversion, and introduced predators—including mongooses, cats, and dogs—pushed the species toward extinction. The recovery that followed combined captive breeding, translocation to suitable habitat on Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Kauaʻi, predator control, and roadway measures such as slow-zone signage near nesting sites. Today, numbers are far better, but threats persist: expanding development fragments habitat, off-leash pets and vehicles endanger broods, and some berry plants the birds rely on are shifting with climate and elevation.
Conservation now emphasizes coexistence. Managers fence key areas to exclude predators, restore native plants that offer food and cover, and work with communities so residents and visitors slow down and give nēnē families space. The species’ future depends on this steady, local stewardship—practical actions that honor a bird uniquely shaped by volcanic islands and the people who call them home.