Category Archives: Parks

Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Animal or Bird in farm or zoo.’ See more responses here.

Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, is the only zoo on the island. It’s quite small, but is definitely a family-friendly destination. We like to visit once in a while to see the zoo’s star attractions, Sriracha and Tzatziki, a pair of Bengal Tigers. Captions are on the photos.

An Emu at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — An Emu having a good hair day.

A Red Tegu lizard at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — An Emu having a good hair day.

Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles.

Tzatziki, a white tiger at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles.

This is one of the many benches in the zoo representing animals that live there. These are ‘Alalās, the endemic Hawaiian Crow. There are no longer any ‘Alalās in the wild and just over a hundred in captivity. The building behind this bench is one of the few places where these birds are bred, with a view to reintroducing them in the wild. So far, attempts to do this have failed, for a variety of reasons including disease and predation. One of the current projects is a release on Maui where Ios, Hawaiian hawks, a major predator of ‘Alalās, are no longer found.

Rainbow at Mahukona

Seems like I see a rainbow or two half the time I go swimming. Hawaii is not called the rainbow state for nothing!

The Numbers Game #132

A view of the North Kohala coast from the air in Hawaii — A view of the North Kohala coast from the air.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 749. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Hawaii Amakihi about to feed on mamane flowers. — Hawai’i Amakihi.

The sign outside Kohala's Tong Wo Society building. — Hawai’i Amakihi.

This channel connects Kiholo fish pond and the ocean — The entrance to the fish pond at Kiholo.

A wind turbine at Hawi Wind Farm undergoes repair — The entrance to the fish pond at Kiholo.

Pine Trees beach

Kohanaiki Beach Park is known locally as Pine Trees and is a popular surf spot. But even when there’s decent surf, there will almost always be spots where toddlers can dip their toes into the water.

I need a drink

Wasps gather at the watering hole, a large depression in a rock at Mahukona, that people fill with fresh water for the birds.

I can see for miles and miles and miles

A view of Maui from Lapakahi State Historical Park in Hawaii

A view of Maui from the entrance to Lapakahi State Historical Park. It looks quite close, but the distance is about 40 miles.

Ripples on a pond

Ripples on a pond at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.

The Numbers Game #128

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 745. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A baby goat and a myna bird in Hawaii — Baby goat and Myna Bird.

A Devil Scorpionfish in the waters off Hawaii — Baby goat and Myna Bird.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii