Hawai'i is not a place where large native animals abound. You may occasionally see humpback whales break the ocean surface, or a group of porpoises arcing gracefully in and out of the water. `Io (Hawaiian hawks) and pueo (short-eared owls) sometimes hover overhead, and `ape`ape`a (Hawaiian bats) flutter across bays and roadways at dusk.

But the island's most noticeable large native animal is the nene or Hawaiian goose. Honored as the State Bird, the endangered nene symbolizes the precarious existence of Hawai`i's native birdlife.