Photo and Video Courtesy of DLNR<\/p><\/div>\n

(KAHULUI) \u2013 Biologists with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) are urging people to drive with aloha, now and during the upcoming holidays, and to slow down for endangered birds.<\/p>\n

A bonded pair of n\u0113n\u0113, a male and female, were struck and killed by cars on A\u2018alele Street near the airport in Kahului on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

A former DOFAW employee found the geese on the road. The female was dead, and the male died a short time later. The male may have been struck after the female, while trying to stay near its partner. N\u0113n\u0113 commonly stay close to their mates or goslings after they\u2019ve been injured.<\/p>\n

N\u0113n\u0113 nesting season coincides with the holiday travel and shopping season. Paved roads resemble lava flows their ancestors evolved on and their large size makes it difficult for them to launch into flight quickly. N\u0113n\u0113 adults and goslings may be crossing busy roads now through April. Adult\u2019s molt and replace flight feathers at this same time each year and juveniles are not ready to fly.<\/p>\n

N\u0113n\u0113 prefer grassy areas, so parks and golf courses are magnets for them. People can also protect this endangered species by keeping dogs leashed at beach parks and near golf courses, and by not feeding them.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Franklin, a DOFAW biologist on Maui estimates there are about 15 n\u0113n\u0113 in the busy core area of Kahului, moving between Kanah\u0101 Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanah\u0101 Beach Park, and nearby grassy areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so lucky to be able to see n\u0113n\u0113 and three other endangered waterbirds species, right downtown,\u201d Franklin said and noted that privilege means an added responsibility to share the space with the endemic wildlife of Hawai\u2018i.<\/p>\n

Unique to the Hawaiian Islands, n\u0113n\u0113 were on the brink of extinction with just 30 birds on Hawai\u2018i Island in the 1900s. N\u0113n\u0113 were reintroduced to Maui in the late 1960\u2019s within Haleakal\u0101 National Park. Today there may be about 500 n\u0113n\u0113 reclaiming old habitats of wetlands and grassy areas at all elevations on Maui.<\/p>\n

To report injured n\u0113n\u0113 on Maui call (808) 984-8100 or if in Haleakal\u0101 National Park (808) 985-6170<\/p>\n\n\n