Nēnē Killed by Car at Haleakalā National Park

A female nēnē was killed by a car in Haleakalā National Park on Friday, Dec. 26, at 7:15 a.m. Photo by Wendy Osher.

A female nēnē was killed by a car on the downhill side of the Haleakalā National Park road near Headquarters Visitor Center on Friday, Dec. 26, at 7:15 a.m.

The bird had a brood patch—a featherless area on its underside used to transfer heat to eggs—indicating that it was nesting.

There are typically 2-5 eggs per nest.

“Only the female incubates the eggs,” said Park Chief of Interpretation Polly Angelakis, so, “the eggs in the nest will die due to the death of this nēnē. Even if we find the nest, there are no facilities on Maui that could incubate the eggs.”

“The loss of one nēnē affects generations,” Angelakis said. “Driving slowly and cautiously is the easiest, most significant action we can all take to protect this endangered species.”

This is the first nēnē killed in the 2014-15 nesting season. During the two previous nesting seasons, four and six nēnē, respectively, were killed by cars on park roads.

Slow Down for Nēnē posters are distributed to all rental car agencies on Maui. Courtesy NPS.

Nene Poster PDF Download

The National Park Service gives a nēnē postcard to the driver of each vehicle that visits Haleakalā National Park. Courtesy NPS.

Nene Postcard PDF Download