Hawaiian Creatures

The Hawaiian goose, or Nēnē is an endemic species of goose of Hawaiʻi. These birds are thought to be ancestors of the giant Hawaiian goose, Nēnē-nui. Nēnē are mixture of brown feathers showing on itʻs body with black and white stripes mostly on its neck. The Nēnē can only be found on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, Molokai and Hawaiʻi.  As the state bird, Nēnēʻs are highly symbolized by native Hawaiian activist and groups.  Nēnēs are endangered, having around less than 2,500 left on the Hawaiian islands. Slowly the population is increasing because of conservation efforts and has been brought back from the brink of extinction in the 1950ʻs. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nene_(bird) https://greenglobaltravel.com/endangered-species-spotlight-nene-goose-a-k-a-hawaiian-goose/

The Hawaiian Monk seal is a marine mammal endemic to the main Hawaiian Islands as well as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Their scientific name is Neomonachus schauinslandi, while Native Hawaiians would call them "'īlio holo i ka uaua", which means ʻdog that runs in rough waterʻ. These big guys have a life span is 25 to 30 years and can weigh up to 400 to 610lbs. Unfortunately, the Hawaiian Monk Seals are endangered. Monk seals have been around for a very long time, they are the oldest species of seals on the planet. "They belong to the genus called Monachus and are one of three that belong to this genus family. The other two are Caribbean monk seal and Mediterranean monk seal. The Caribbean monk seal has been extinct since 1952." Mediterranean monk seals are more endangered than the Hawaiian monk seals, having only roughly 500 remaining compared to 1,400.  Btw Hawaiian Monk Seals like to be isolated, hence the "monk" in their name.  ...

The Hawaiian Happy Face Spider (Theridion grallator) or in Hawaiian, nananana makaki'i is endemic to Hawai'i. It can be found on the islands of O'ahu, Moloka'i, Maui, and Big Island. The spider can differ in pattern from island to island depending on their diet but still maintains a "happy face" on its body which helps the spider camouflage against birds and other predators. You can find the spider in the rainforests of the islands beneath leaves of plants where it builds its webs and hunts for food at night.  https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/happyface_02 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theridion_grallator                                      https://www.flickr.com/photos/treevillage/8038460590