Hawaii’s State Bird – The Nene Goose
The Rare Hawaiian Nene Goose
The Nene, or Hawaiian Goose, is the State Bird of Hawaii.
Nene can only be found in the wild on Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island of Hawaii, and no place else in the world. Two hundred years ago, there were 25,000 Nene but introduced predators and hunting made them almost extinct by 1952, with only 30 birds remaining. Breeding in captivity helped in the effort to start restoring the population, and these geese have been reintroduced into the wild. Today there are about 2000. Nene are closely related to the Canada Goose.
The photos and video below were taken at Kula Botanical Garden on Maui.