BIODIVERSITY ON THE BIG ISLAND
To visit the Big Island is to step into a natural paradise, where the varied topography is home to some of the world’s most unique and diverse wildlife. Several animals were brought ashore by explorers centuries ago, since becoming a part of the island’s landscape, while various bird species are now only found in Hawaii. Our Hawaii National Park vacation rental is the perfect starting point for seeing them in the wild, surrounded by the rainforests, volcano-adjacent grasslands, and high-elevation trees that these animals call home.
A New Home in Hawaii – Wildlife Brought Ashore From Afar
Several animal species you may see grazing on the grasslands near volcanic slopes or rustling through the deep jungle arrived as travelers brought across the ocean to Hawaii’s shores. In the late 18th century, Captain James Vancouver bequeathed six cows to King Kamehameha I, bringing cattle to the islands for the first time. An interesting historical tidbit – these European cattle arrived in Hawaii in 1793 before they made it to the US mainland in 1817. Other explorers like James Cook would also bring pigs, horses, goats, and sheep around this time, introducing species that we consider commonplace but were brand-new to the Hawaiian islands. These wildlife would proliferate over the next two centuries, threatening the Big Island’s delicate vegetation. Because of this, the National Park Service controls the population of these animals, but you’re still likely to see them when you’re out exploring.
Other less “common” species you may see or hear are coqui frogs, which are tiny at around an inch but produce a loud-for-their-size call heard throughout the forests around Hilo. Indian mongoose, a species also brought to the islands by humans in the late-1800s, are easy to spot with their pointy nose and upright stance. And although charming at first glance, both species are labeled invasive, as they disrupt the ecosystem’s natural balance.
A Birder’s Heaven – Endemic Species, Rare Sightings, and Nene’s Home
Binoculars are essential when you head out to explore our two nearby volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. In addition to getting a close-up look at the caldera – Kilauea is currently in an eruptive phase, with two prominent lava lakes visible from the crater rim – you’ll also be able to observe the diverse array of bird species found amongst the volcanic terrain.
Keep an eye overhead for the Hawaiian hawk, venerated in island folklore and once endangered but flourishing throughout the Big Island now. Check out the ledges of the volcanic rim for yellow-billed tropicbirds, which lay their eggs in the steep walls and whose massive 4-foot wingspan and bright white color are hard to miss.
High-elevation rainforests surround the village of Volcano, with Kahauale’a and Ola’a Nature Preserves on either side and the forest canopy along the Kilauea Iki Trail. Here you’ll find several rare bird species, such as the apapane, with its vibrant reddish-orange plumage once used in traditional leis, and the brown-and-white elepaio, which takes its name from its distinctive bird call. See our post about hiking the Kilauea Iki Trail, which is a must-do outing and takes you through this lush bird-rich terrain before dipping into and crossing the crater floor.
Perhaps the pinnacle Big Island wildlife-viewing experience is catching sight of an endemic species, like the Nene goose, which exists only in Hawaii and nowhere else on the planet. Crowned the state bird in the late 1950s and the rarest species of geese anywhere, the Nene is a living example of adaptation. Evolving in isolation over thousands of years, they have unique characteristics like less webbing on their feet, thought to allow for surer footing when walking on lava flows.
Book your Volcano, HI vacation rental, where the wildlife and volcanoes are equally breathtaking!
