{"id":899937,"date":"2026-10-30T13:26:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T13:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899937\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T13:26:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T13:26:29","slug":"its-twice-the-size-of-rhode-island-is-home-to-wildlife-found-nowhere-else-on-earth-and-is-constantly-growing-and-sinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899937\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s twice the size of Rhode Island, is home to wildlife found nowhere else on Earth and is constantly growing and sinking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Big Island of Hawai\u02bbi is the largest and southeasternmost island in the Hawaiian Archipelago, rising from the central North Pacific Ocean. Around 2,000\u20132,400 miles (3,200\u20133,800km) from the US mainland, its relative isolation has helped shape an extraordinary natural world.<\/p>\n

From mist-shrouded rainforests to black lava fields and a vast tropical coastline, the island is home to a remarkable range of habitats. This diversity, combined with millions of years of isolation, has allowed wildlife to evolve in unusual ways, producing a wealth of endemic species found nowhere else on Earth.<\/p>\n

More than 90 per cent of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s native terrestrial flora and fauna are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Home to colourful forest birds, rare sea turtles, endemic insects and a native land mammal, it\u2019s an island rich in biodiversity and wildlife.<\/p>\n

How the Big Island\u2019s landscape was formed<\/p>\n

A landscape shaped by volcanic activity, the Big Island\u2019s wildlife is closely intertwined with its rich geology, as lava flows repeatedly reshape the landscape, while forests have gradually recolonised newly formed ground.<\/p>\n

Volcanoes often form where tectonic plates collide, but they can also emerge far from the edges of these vast moving slabs of Earth\u2019s crust. Deep beneath the surface, plumes of hot magma can rise through the middle of a tectonic plate, eventually breaking through the seafloor in a volcanic eruption. These areas are known as hot spots. As the molten rock cools and hardens, it builds up over time, creating new land.<\/p>\n

The Hawaiian Islands formed above one of these hot spots, beneath the Pacific Plate \u2013 one of around 20 major tectonic plates that make up Earth\u2019s outer layer.<\/p>\n

As the Pacific Plate slowly moved over the stationary hot spot, repeated volcanic eruptions created a trail of islands and underwater volcanoes. As a result, the Hawaiian Island chain was built up over millions of years by volcanic activity.<\/p>\n

The Big Island measures approximately 4,050 square miles (around 6,517 square kilometres), which is more than twice the size of Rhode Island (which measures 1,545 square miles). But the Big Island\u2019s size is constantly changing: volcanic eruptions add new land, while the island is simultaneously slowly sinking into the ocean.<\/p>\n

\"lava\"Molten lava flow at Kaim\u016b beach after sunset with an explosive eruption from the volcano K\u012blauea in the background. Credit: Juan Maria Coy Vergara\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Native woodland provides habitat for endemic birds, while the coastline supports turtles, seabirds and marine mammals. However, this delicate ecosystem remains vulnerable as introduced predators, invasive species, habitat loss and disease has contributed to severe declines among the island\u2019s native species.<\/p>\n

Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s native land mammal <\/p>\n

There is just one native terrestrial mammal in Hawai\u02bbi: the \u02bbope\u02bbape\u02bba, or Hawaiian hoary bat. This elusive bat is endangered and can be difficult to spot, although it may sometimes be seen hunting insects around forest edges and open areas.<\/p>\n

Unlike most of the mammals encountered on the island, it arrived naturally through its own means, rather than being introduced by people. Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s isolation meant that the vast majority of its native land animals had to arrive by flying, swimming or being carried across the ocean.<\/p>\n

What wildlife can you find there?<\/p>\n

From scarlet forest birds to endangered sea turtles, Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s Big Island is home to many rare species of wildlife. <\/p>\n

\u02bbI\u02bbiwi (scarlet honeycreeper)
\n\"RedThe endangered \u02bbi\u02bbiwi. Credit: Satheesh Rajh Rajagopalan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The brilliant scarlet plumage, black wings and long, curved bill of the \u02bbi\u02bbiwi make it distinctive as it moves between flowers in the forest canopy. The \u02bbi\u02bbiwi is one of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s endemic honeycreepers, a group of birds that evolved from a common ancestor after colonising the islands. Its unique bill allows it to feed on nectar from native plants such as \u02bb\u014dhi\u02bba lehua. However, like many Hawaiian forest birds, the species faces serious threats from habitat loss and introduced diseases, including avian malaria.<\/p>\n

\u02bbIo (Hawaiian hawk)
\n\"Hawk\"The \u02bbio, the endemic and endangered native Hawaiian hawk species, is one of only two native raptors found in Hawaii. Credit: Eric J. Franke for The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The \u02bbio, or Hawaiian hawk, is an endemic raptor only found on Hawai\u02bbi Island and can be spotted soaring above forests and open landscapes, searching for prey below. Its diet includes birds, insects and small mammals, and it can occupy a surprisingly wide range of habitats, including native forest and agricultural areas.<\/p>\n

Honu (Hawaiian green sea turtle)
\n\"CheloniaHonu are a migratory species and travel to the main Hawaiian Islands to forage for food and bask on the beaches. Credit: Douglas Klug\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Hawaiian green sea turtles, known as honu, are found on Big Island\u2019s beaches. They can be spotted in shallow coastal waters, where they feed on algae and marine vegetation, or resting along the shoreline.<\/p>\n

Although they are relatively familiar around Hawai\u02bbi, green turtles remain protected wildlife. The Big Island is also home to hawksbill turtles, or honu\u02bbea, a much rarer species. <\/p>\n

N\u0113n\u0113 (Hawaiian goose)
\n\"\"The n\u0113n\u0113 is named after its soft, repetitive call. Credit: Westend61\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

With its distinctive black face and buff-coloured cheeks, the n\u0113n\u0113 is Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s state bird \u2013 and one of its most important conservation stories.<\/p>\n

The Hawaiian goose was once reduced to just 30 known individuals in the wild. Captive breeding, habitat protection and reintroduction programmes helped pull the species back from the brink, and n\u0113n\u0113 can now be found on several Hawaiian islands.<\/p>\n

\u02bbOpe\u02bbape\u02bba (Hawaiian hoary bat)
\n\"\"The \u02bbope\u02bbape\u02bba was designated the official state mammal of Hawai\u02bbi in 2015. Credit: Frank Bonaccorso, USGS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

The Hawaiian hoary bat, or \u02bbope\u02bbape\u02bba, is one of the Big Island\u2019s most unusual residents. It is Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s only native terrestrial mammal, having arrived naturally rather than being introduced by people.<\/p>\n

This solitary, nocturnal bat hunts insects from dusk into the night, sometimes flying over forests and open landscapes. The species is considered endangered, and habitat loss is among the pressures facing its populations.<\/p>\n

Top image: the dramatic coastline of Hawai\u02bbi’s Big Island. Credit: redtea\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Big Island of Hawai\u02bbi is the largest and southeasternmost island in the Hawaiian Archipelago, rising from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":["post-899937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}