The Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis) is a relative of the Canada goose, but it lives on hawaiian islands. It is non aquatic and sedentary. Its wings are short and its feet semipalmated. Its body is dreary and striated with chestnut brown, its neck is buff yellow and criss-crossed with black and its face is black. The hawaiian goose eats small fruit and plants located on volcanos' high slopes. It actually nests on volcanic lava-covered slopes where vegetation is sparse, between 1525 and 2440 meters high.
The species reproduction starts as soon as January when it is 2 or 3 years of age. The female builds the nest on the ground and surrounds it with vegetation. It lays 2 to 6 beige eggs and sits on them for 28 to 30 days. The drake prefers to watch threatening predators from a distance. The young hawaiian gooses have thick feathers between their tenth and twelfth week of life.
Long ago the species was plentiful, but for miscellaneous reasons including the introduction of mammal predators such as dogs, cats, pigs, mongooses, and others, hawaiian geese have been dispersed in a few little groups in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1952, there were only 30 birds left even if hunting of the species was prohibited in 1911. Today, because of the animal breeding, we can count 550 individuals of this Hawaii island emblem. XSign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …
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