Hawaii has a reputation for having beautiful animal life and birdlife. One of Hawaii’s beloved birds, and currently the State Bird is the Hawaiian Goose. The Nene is its official name. In 1778, the Hawaiian Goose numbered 25,000. Unfortunately, over time, the mongoose ended up killing off of the majority of them. Above all, by 1952, only 30 remained on the islands.
Breeders do good and find a way to increase geese population
The Hawaiian Goose ended up on the Endangered Species list in 1967. But then conservationists went to work, finding a way to repopulate the islands. Moreover, after spending 60 years with an intensive captive breeding habitat restoration and in-depth management strategies, the population has skyrocketed 90-fold.
In the LA Times, the United States Interior Secretary Bernhardt acknowledged that the Hawaiian Goose had recovered enough to be no longer considered an endangered animal. “Today’s announcement highlights the progress (that) the Endangered Species Act intends to deliver,” said Bernhardt. “As a result, through collaboration and hard work, the Hawaiian Goose is out of intensive care and on a pathway to recovery.”
Hawaii doing it’s part of keeping the geese’s population surviving
Hawaii’s National Parks do not share locations of the birds or provide bird watching tours. This is to protect the vulnerability of the Hawaiian Goose. The state of Hawaii at one time had nine species of geese; the Hawaiian Goose is all the remains. Researchers believe that the Hawaiian Goose evolved from the Canadian Goose.
Species listed as endangered are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range. However, a species listed as threatened means it’s likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future if steps aren’t taken to protect it. Is your area working to protect a species of animal? We think that would be a do good story. Tell us about it in our comments section. We’d love to hear about it!
