Mid-Quarter Essay

                                                                                                                     Che’Vaughn Bolden

                                                                                                                                         Period 4

                                  Endangered Animals of Hawaii

Hawaii’s species population has decreased rapidly over the past couple of years.  There are 44 endangered animals out of 317 endangered species today this year.  Such as The Hawaiian Monk Seal, Nene Bird, and Green Sea Turtle. Hawaii native species are becoming extinct to the islands in which we live today.

According to National Geographic “The Hawaiian Monk Seal is named for its folds of skin that somewhat resemble a monk’s cowl, and because it is usually seen alone or in small groups”.  The Hawaiian name for the monk seal is “ ‘Ilio holo I ka uaua” which means, “dog that runs in rough water.  “Like other species of warm water monk seals, the Hawaiian monk seal has a tenuous grasp on survival”.  Humans have moved into the locations that monk seals frequented.  Hawaiian monk seals have also been a victim of fisheries.  The biggest threat to Hawaiian monk seals is tiger sharks.  The sharks prey on these monk seals.  Because of this many Hawaiian monk seals are endangered and even with protection efforts we have, the population of this species is “believed to have fallen more than ten percent per year since 1989”.

 According to Sea Pics “The Nene Bird is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and the official bird of the State of Hawaii since 1957. It is the world’s rarest goose with only around 1,000 living in the wild”.  The Nene bird became rare and closely extinct from hunting by Native Hawaiians, and introduction from predators, like mongoose and cats by European Settlers.  According to Konica Minolta, “At one time, there were only 30 Nene Birds in existence due to hunting and attack by other animals brought to the island”.  Thos is a big difference in population because there was once a sight throughout the Hawaiian Islands, that there was a population reaching 25,000 birds in the 18^th century.  The decrease in population came from immigrants from Europe arriving on the islands of Hawaii bringing cats and mongoose.

According to National Geographic “Green Sea Turtles are reptiles whose ancestors evolved on land and took to the sea to live about 150 million years ago.  They are one of the few species so ancient that they watched the dinosaurs evolve and become extinct”.   The green sea turtle is named not for color of the shell, but for the greenish color of their skin.  The dangerous time for green sea turtles is when they make their journey from their nest to the sea because of the multiple predators such as, crabs and flocks of gulls, which prey on hatchlings.  According to Conserve Turtles “The population estimate of green sea turtles are 88,250 nesting females”.

In conclusion, Hawaii native species are becoming extinct to the islands in which we live today.  The very few endangered species of Hawaii such as Hawaiian monk seal, green sea turtle, and the Nene bird   are endangered and becoming extinct from the cause of their predators which is humans, crabs, gulls, and sharks.  And this isn’t just a little decrease in population; this is a major decrease such as from 25,000 to 30 Nene birds left.  This issue is important because the decrease in population of our species decreases our lifestyles.  For example, if the fish in the sea decreased humans would have less fish to eat. So, the important issue is that Hawaiian native species are becoming endangered and extinct and humans need to do something about it.