Some cool wildlife we have seen....

Laysan albatross nesting on the ground in a neighbor's yard. Their nesting behavior is one of the major reasons they are endangered. Last month an islander's 2 dogs ran loose through a nesting colony of albatrosses on the island and killed 18 birds. This was quite catastrophic since these birds only lay 1 egg a year. The owner was fined about $1,500.

We drive past this nest every day and we looked at them anxiously awaiting the hatching of their young one.

As we were leaving 'Anini beach we noticed a Monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) rolling around in the waves on a small spit of shore by the side of the road. We stopped and watched this sweet looking seal slowly work its way onto the shore to sun itself. These are also the most endangered of all seals.

Nene goose (Branta sandvicensis) is also an endangered species from hunting which was stopped in 1950 when it was realized there was only about 30 of them. They are making a comeback here in Kauai where mongoose have not colonized (mongoose are on the other islands, but not here...yet).

They are a bit smaller than Canadian geese and have become very friendly on this island because of the tourists' bad habit of feeding them.