Photos, links, and information about Hawaiian wild plants and animals.

Wildlife of Hawaii

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• Hawaiian Plants & Tropical Flowers

Photos

• 'Apapane - Himatione sanguinea
• Fiery Skipper - Hylephila phyleus
• Indian Mongoose - Herpestes javanicus
• Bamboo Orchid - Arundina graminifolia
• Pacific Golden Plover - Pluvialis fulva
• Shampoo Ginger - Zingiber zerumbet
• Yellow-billed Cardinal - Paroaria capitata

Hawaii Wildlife Facts

Because of its remote, isolated location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii has an unusually high proportion of endemic species. Endemic species are native to only one place in the World.

Many Hawaiian endemic species are now endangered or even exinct due to the proliferation of harmful introduced species like rats and mosquitos.

The only terrestrial mammal native to Hawaii is the Hawaiian Hoary Bat, all other land mammal species here were introduced by humans. In contrast, all marine mammals found here in Hawaii are native.

Hawaii has no native species of terrestrial reptiles or amphibians. All now found here were introduced. However, it does have native marine reptiles (sea turtles and sea snakes).

The are no terrestrial snakes in Hawaii, and in the ocean, sea snakes are only rarely seen here.

Mammals of the Hawaiian Islands

Listed here are the terrestrial and marine mammals found in the Hawaiian Islands.

Bats (Order Chiroptera)

• Hawaiian Hoary Bat - Lasiurus cinereus semotus - Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu

Carnivores (Order Carnivora)

• Feral Cat - Felis catus - Hawaii, Kaho'olawe, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu
• Feral Dog - Canis lupus familiaris - Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu
• Hawaiian Monk Seal - Monachus schauinslandi - Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Oahu
• Indian Mongoose - Herpestes javanicus - Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu
• Northern Elephant Seal - Mirounga angustirostris - Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Even-toed Ungulates (Order Artiodactyla)

• Axis Deer, Chital - Axis axis - Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu
• Domestic Goat, Feral Goat - Capra hircus - Hawaii, Kaho'olawe, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu
• Feral Cattle - Bos taurus - Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai
• Feral Pig, Wild Boar - Sus scrofa - Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu
• Mouflon, Feral Sheep - Ovis aries - Hawaii, Lanai
• Mule Deer, Black-tail Deer - Odocoileus hemionus - Kauai

Odd-toed Ungulates (Order Perissodactyla)

• African Wild Ass, Feral Donkey - Equus asinus - Hawaii

Rabbits (Order Lagomorpha)

• Feral European Rabbit - Oryctolagus cuniculus - Lehua, Manana Island

Rodents (Order Rodentia)

• Black Rat, Ship Rat, Roof Rat - Rattus rattus - Ford Island, Hawaii, Kaho'olawe, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Midway, Mokolii, Mokuauia, Mokuoloe, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu
• House Mouse - Mus musculus - Ford Island, Hawaii, Kaho'olawe, Kauai, Kaula, Lanai, Manana Island, Maui, Midway, Mokuoloe, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu
• Norway Rat - Rattus norvegicus - Ford Island, Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu
• Polynesian Rat, Pacific Rat - Rattus exulans - Hawaii, Kaho'olawe, Kauai, Kaula, Kure, Lanai, Maui, Midway, Mokumanu, Molokai, Ni'ihau, Oahu, Popoia

Wallabies (Order Diprotodontia)

• Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby - Petrogale penicillata - Oahu

Whales and Dolphins (Order Cetacea)

• Blainville's Beaked Whale - Mesoplodon densirostris
• Blue Whale - Balaenoptera musculus
• Bottlenose Dolphin - Tursiops truncatus
• Common Minke Whale - Balaenoptera acutorostrata - Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
• Cuvier's Beaked Whale - Ziphius cavirostris
• Dwarf Sperm Whale - Kogia sima
• Eden's Whale - Balaenoptera edeni - Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
• False Killer Whale - Pseudorca crassidens
• Fin Whale - Balaenoptera physalus
• Grampus, Risso's Dolphin - Grampus griseus
• Humpback Whale - Megaptera novaeangliae
• Killer Whale - Orcinus orca
• Melon-headed Whale - Peponocephala electra
• North Atlantic Right Whale - Eubalaena glacialis
• Pantropical Spotted Dolphin - Stenella attenuata
• Pygmy Killer Whale - Feresa attenuata
• Pygmy Sperm Whale - Kogia breviceps
• Rough-toothed Dolphin - Steno bredanensis
• Short-finned Pilot Whale - Globicephala macrorhynchus
• Sperm Whale - Physeter macrocephalus
• Spinner Dolphin - Stenella longirostris
• Striped Dolphin - Stenella coeruleoalba

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