Re-introduction of the nēnē, a remote island goose, Hawai`i, USA

Summary

The nene or Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis), the sole survivor of a once-diverse group of Hawaiian geese, had fallen to a single wild population of about 30 birds by 1995 after habitat loss and introduced predators like mongoose devastated ground-nesting success. Starting with captive-breeding stock from Sir Peter Scott's Severn Wildlife Trust in England and later the Zoological Society of San Diego, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, and National Park Service have re-introduced nene continuously on Hawaii Island since 1960, Maui since 1962, Kauai in 1985 and 1991 to 2000, and Molokai from 2001 to 2004, aiming to build a connected metapopulation across islands and eventually restore breeding to lowland habitat. Nene readily adapt to modified landscapes such as golf courses, pastures, and roadsides, which supports their spread but also exposes them to traffic strikes, wind towers, and airport strike hazards; some private landowners have entered Safe Harbor agreements permitting limited take in exchange for land management benefiting the species. To date, captive-bred releases have not produced a fully self-sustaining wild population, and a small-scale translocation project on Hawaii Island is testing whether birds can be strategically moved away from drought-affected areas. The project rated itself Partially Successful, noting nene now occupy islands where they were once rare or absent, and some populations grow even without intensive predator control, but most would decline without continued releases, and breeding remains largely absent from historic lowland habitat.