Flora and Fauna of the Hawaiian Islands
January 8th, 2008 by Rocco
The flora and fauna of the Hawaiian Islands are intriguingly unique. Many tourists visit Hawaii to see the original exotic beauty of the plants and animals found on the islands.
The flora and fauna of the Hawaii condos are exceptional. In fact, nearly 90% of the plants and animals found in Hawaii are found nowhere else in the world.
The Islands of Hawaii include 21 of the possible 22 climates of the world and flora and fauna are found thriving in snow-capped mountainous regions as well as lush tropical forest environments. Since cooling of volcanic lava created the Hawaiian Islands, the islands were originally devoid of flora and fauna.
Plants and animals arrived by way of tidal currents, migratory birds, winds, and early migrating settlers. Plants and animals that arrived without the help of man are considered endemic.
Many plants adapted to their new predator-free environment and are considered native to the region. These native plants rarely include poisons and thorns that are necessary in other more hostile environments.
This created a problem once migratory settlers introduced other plants and animals to the environment later on. The foreign plants and animals then posed a risk to the defenseless native plants and animals already present on the islands. This resulted in the extinction or near-extinction of many Hawaiian plants and animals.
Hawaii is home to about 12% of the endangered flora and fauna of the entire United States. Nearly 75% of the already extinct plants and animals native to the United States are Hawaiian.
Hawaii’s state bird, the Nene, or Hawaiian goose, is endangered, as is the State flower, the Native Yellow Hibiscus (Hibiscus Brackenridge. Hawaiian hawks, crows, honeycreepers are all endangered Hawaiian birds that once thrived on the islands.
The introduction of animals on the islands has created problems as well. Wild pigs and black tailed deer are hunted to limit the amount of overgrazing and destruction of natural habitats on the islands.
Wild deer, goats, horses, sheep, cattle, and pigs are found on the islands. Early Polynesian settlers, as well as other immigrants from around the world, introduced these animals to the Hawaiian environment.
The flora and fauna of the Hawaiian Islands are largely in danger of extinction. The plants and animals that thrive on the islands are often unique to Hawaii and visitors flock to the area to catch glimpses of these rare and beautiful examples of nature’s glory.