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| August 2010 |
| Billie Silvey |
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| Hawaii's Animals |
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| The parrotfish (above left) creates Hawai's sandy beaches by eating and digesting coral. The grey reef shark and green Moray eel can attack if threatened, while the whale shark is the largest and most harmless fish in Hawaii. |
| The humpback whale (left) is the largest mammal of Hawaii. Other sea mammals include the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and bottlenose dolphins (above). Brushtail rock wallabies (below left), natives of Australia accidently released in 1916, inhabit the Kalihi Valley. The endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, (below) perhaps the rarest species, is indigenous to the islands. It and the monk seal are found nowhere else. |
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| The nene (left), the Hawaii State Bird, is a goose with white neck and underside. The honey creeper (above) is known for its bright colors, curved bill and furtive movements. The palila is another brightly-colored bird with splashes of blue and yellow. The frigate bird's distinctive shape is easy to distinguish overhead. |
| Birds |
| Mammals |
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| Apapane (above left) bottlenose dolphins (above); gecko (left), Hawaii monk seal (below) |
| Rising from the floor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with the nearest continent thousands of miles away, it's not surprising that Hawaii has few indigenous animals, more birds and fish than anything else, and more endangered species than any other U.S. state. |
| Fish |
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| Reptiles |
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| Reptiles include the gecko (top of page) and the endangered green sea turtle (right) |
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