A Pocket Guide to Hawaii’s Wildlife is the most complete guide to the wildlife inhabiting America’s only tropical island state. It’s coverage, through text and photos of 140 species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and easily observed birds, will broaden your appreciation of Hawaii’s natrual life and environment as well as pique your curiosity. To speak of wildlife on remote islands such as the Hawaiian Archipelago is to talk mostly about birds. The Hawaiian Islands were never connected to any continental source of wildlife. Before the coming of humans, only the chance events of wind and wave brought colonizing animals. The mammals that could make the journey over thousands of miles of open ocean had to either fly or swim. Thus, the only two species to reach the islands on their own were a bat and a seal. A few lizards may have arrived by rafting on floating debris, but when the first Polynesian settlers arrived, they found mostly birds and these few other speicies. That changed rapidly as the early settlers brought with them pigs, dogs, and unintentionally rats, skinks, and geckos who either purposely or as hitchikers hid on voyaging canoes. Later arrivals brought with them a host of domestic animals that quickly became feral (living in the wild), along with ones brought for hunting, ill-advised attempts at biological control, potential food sources, or just on a whim. Many of these alien animals proved detrimental to the original natural wildlife and plant life. By introducing you to Hawaii’s Ccurrent motley assemblage of animals, this volumen will help you learn and appreciate the fragility of Hawaii’s unique ecology. Contents: Mammals Native Mammals Predators, Rodents, and Others Feral Livestock Big Game Animals Reptiles Turtles Lizards Snakes Amphibians Toads Frogs Conspicuous Invertebrates Birds Birds in Towns and Resorts Birds along Rural Roadsides Wetland Birds Forest Birds Seabirds Checklist of Amphibians, Reptiles, and Land Mammals in Hawaii Author: H. Douglas Pratt
