Hawaii is very different from most landmasses in the world. Unlike most landmasses, it didn't break away from a larger landmass (like Madagascar) or become separated by rising sea levels (like the Indonesian islands). Hawaii is not part of any continental crust, they are the tops of massive volcanoes protruding above the surface of the ocean that has been formed by the Hawaiian hotspot underneath them.

They are the most isolated group of islands on earth and this has had a major impact on the types of plant and animals life that has made it there. Most of the native wildlife are birds, so bird watching is one of the less common things to do while on Big Island.

The World's Most Isolated Archipelago

The Hawaiian islands are located around 3680 kilometers or 2,300 miles from the nearest continental shore. The isolation means that the native plants and animals found on the islands today are the results of early and very infrequent colonizations over a period of around 5 million years (the islands first emerged above the water around 10 million years ago - although now sunken islands in the chain have been around for much longer).

  • Isolated: The Hawaiian Islands Are The Most Isolated In The World
  • Distance: They Are Around 3,680 Kilometers or 2,300 Miles From The Nearest Continental Shore
  • Period: They Have Been Colonized By Animals For Around 5 Million Years
  • Endemic: Around 90% of the Species In Hawaii Are Endemic

Once plants and animals arrived on the islands, they were in near-perfect isolation, consequently, the islands boast a large number of endemic species to the islands. The radiation of species seen in the Galápagos Islands is even exceeded in the more isolated Hawaiian Islands.

The islands are also very ecologically diverse. On the higher mountains, there are trade winds fields and the islands can experience extreme rain shadow effects. One side of the island can be dry tropical while the other side may be wet tropical and the slopes may be tropical rainforest.

The sheer distance of the islands from anywhere means that only birds and seeds and spores that could travel that distance were able to make and colonize the islands.

Related: How To Plan A Visit Around Yellowstone's Wildlife Mating, Migration Patterns, and More

A Native Fauna Without Predators and Competitors

Like also isolated New Zealand to the far south, the native fauna of Hawaii has also evolved in the absence of predators and competitors.

That means that the plants have not developed defenses - like thorns or poisons. The native birds on the other hand lost their sense of fear. It is thought that before the arrival of humans to the islands, there were around 67 species of birds.

The first Polynesian settlers began to arrive on the islands at around 500 AD. They upended the ecosystem bringing along pigs, horses, sheep, goats, and dogs. In the years since then, around a third of the island's native species of birds have gone extinct.

Unfortunately, over the past 200 years, more species of birds have become extinct here than anywhere else in the world.

  • Birds: There Were Around 67 Species of Birds
  • Extinct: Around A Third Of The Birds Are Extinct
  • Mammals: Only The Hawaiian Monk Seal and Hoary Bat
  • Other Animals: No Amphibians, Mosquitoes, Reptiles, or Bugs
  • Hawaiian Monk Seal: Driven To the Edge of Extinction in the 19th Century - Has Made a Come Back Since Then
  • Extinct: 23 Species Are Extinct Endangered: 30 Species Are Endangered

To protect against more unwanted species in the Hawaiian islands, one can expect strict biological controls like in Australia and New Zealand - no apples!

Related: Discover The Most Endangered Wildlife At The Zealandia Sanctuary

The Animals Of Hawaii

Hawaii even more than New Zealand was the domain of birds. There were no amphibians, mosquitoes, reptiles, or bugs on the islands. There were only two endemic mammals - the Hawaiian monk seal and the hoary bat (mammals that flew or swam there). It is thought that the hoary bat was accidentally blown to the islands from North or South America. There are no snakes endemic snakes in Hawaii and there are continuous eradication programs to keep it that way.

Kauai is the home of the largest number of native birds species and Hawaii and remains free of the obnoxious mongoose.

  • Hoary Bat: Lives At Koke's State Park

The wild goats, pigs, black-tailed deer that one can see on the islands are not native and are hunted. In the Kalihi Valley there are difficult to see rock wallabies - one thing interesting about these is that they may be a subspecies that has now gone extinct back in Australia.

Hotspots for seeing Hawaii's native wildlife are at the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, the Kealia Pond on Maui, and Kanaha Wildlife Sanctuary on Maui.

  • State Bird: The Nene - a Type of Duck (Was Almost Extinct But Now Numbers Have Risen To Around 500)

Next: The World's "Living Fossils" & Where To Find Them