Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Most of Lana'i's flora and fauna have been introduced. The
Cook pine
and the
mouflon
sheep
were a human intervention attempting to improve the natural, often barren habitat.
These species have adapted so well that they now symbolize Lana'i in the way that the
pineapple once did. Besides the mouflon, Lana'i boasts
axis deer, Rio Grande turkeys,
and a number of
ring-necked pheasants.
Like the other islands of Hawai'i, Lana'i, un-
fortunately, is home to native birds that are headed for extinction, although the recent
rediscovery of a colony of
'Ua'u shearwaters
on the summit of Lana'ihale has given
hope that all is not yet lost. For more information on the native species of Lana'i, visit
official tree for the state of Hawai'i, its tiny white blossom is Moloka'i's flower. The
kukui,
introduced centuries ago by the early Polynesians, grows on lower mountain slopes, is dis-
tinguished by its pale green leaves, and dominates the valleys of lush eastern Moloka'i.
Land animals on Moloka'i such as
pigs, goats,
and
axis deer
were introduced by hu-
mans. Moloka'i's feral pigs of the upper wetland forests of the northeast, indiscriminate
in their relentless hunt for food, are ecological nightmares that virtually bulldoze the rain-
forest floor into fetid pools and gouged earth, where mosquitoes and other introduced spe-
cies thrive while driving out the natives. Today, pigs are hunted, and fences keep them out
of some fragile areas.
Offspring from a pair of goats left by Captain Cook on the island of Ni'ihau spread to
all the islands, and they were well adapted to life on Moloka'i. Originally from the arid
Mediterranean, goats could live well without any surface water, a condition quite prevalent
over most of Moloka'i.
NO LAND PREDATORS!
Maui can be a hiker's dream-and not just because of the scenery. Unlike other parts
of the world where hikers need to worry about grizzly bears, mountain lions, black
bears, and snakes, Maui has no land predators to speak of whatsoever. Remote sec-
tions of the island are home to wild boars, axis deer, and mountain goats, although
all of these flee at the sound of a footstep. There are technically centipedes and a
