5 of the rarest geese worldwide, a small flock of Hawaii’s state birds, showed up in Huntington Beach, California, confusing everybody. The nēnē or Hawaiian goose is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, implying it only lives there. So why exist a handful of these Hawaiian geese spending time in southern California?
According to regional news station KCAL, an elderly female who lives in the high desert of California once owned the unusual geese as pets, but she might no longer look after them. Though the news report doesn’t say it outright, it seems the previous owner released the birds.
Local wildlife authorities are looking after the nēnēs, and they seem a bit giddy about it. Jaret Davey, a wildlife service technician at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, said: “If you had actually asked me to forecast the top 1,000 birds that we ‘d ever get here at the center, nēnēs wouldn’t have actually even come close to the list, so it’s quite interesting.”
Uncommon Nēnē Geese Are Endangered
According to the National Park Service, nēnēs are a threatened species. The nēnē population when decreased to about 30 birds in the 1950s. Thanks to conservation efforts, though, the birds’ numbers have increased.
“Reestablished populations occur on the islands of Hawai’i, Kaua’i, Maui, Moloka’i, and most recently on O’ahu,” NPS states.
As for these California nēnēs, who are very far from home and have lived their entire lives in human care, the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center states they’ll find the birds a great home in a zoo or fish tank.
4 exceptionally rare Hawaiian geese showed up in Huntington Beach, California, confusing everyone. However why?