Kauai didn’t have too many crazy creatures like monkeys and alligators and panthers but it did have visible creatures. Ones that seemed used to co-existing with humans and didn’t hide in trees and ground holes. Maybe this is because all the creatures we saw are descendants of pets brought to the islands a long time ago.
First – the rooster (and chickens).
They say hurricane iniki (1992) took down farms letting all these chickens and roosters loose. Now they are everywhere. There was not a single place we went to that didn’t have a rooster strutting around. Quite entertaining actually, until you’re waken up at 5 in the morning by 3 roosters cawing over and over and over again.
But I got used to it. And then I met the chicks. I even rubbed one on its little head and then was worried that its mother might smell my scent and eat it but I was assured that wouldn’t be the case. So the chickens and roosters were great.
The second creature was more localized. Wild cats roamed the first site we camped at – Salt Pond Beach Park. By wild I mean stray domestic cats. Or maybe they are pets to the park. They would certainly be given food and water and be able to stay familiar with the same locals who come every day for a beer and/or game of poker.
We spotted the third creature while driving the dirt roads from Polihale at nighttime. Faron noticed one on the side of the road and then another and another. Toads. Frogs? I never know which. But they sat on both sides of the road, all the same distance from the edge of the road with their backs to cars and about 2 feet between each toad/frog. Had the king frog decreed that this be the best spot for road sitting? His decision would be reinforced by the splattering of the few unfortunate enough to sit closer to the middle of the road.
We had pulled over and Faron walked up to this guy and easily picked him up. As we looked at it, it started to inflate itself. The inflating then turned into a high pitched panicky whining sound that I didn’t know toad/frogs could make. It was really interesting but we also felt bad for it and let it go quickly. Saved by whining – heh.
The last creature that I have a photo is the gecko. But I’m not positive it’s a gecko. I have a feeling that it could be some lizard that’s always mistaken for a gecko but is really a salamander…or something like that. Anyway, I liked seeing these guys because I was told about a cockroach problem on the island but that there was also a gecko (problem?) and the latter took care of most of the former. Most of my sightings were in the campground bathrooms at nighttime. Those geckos had turned a pale browny-yellow to match the plaster walls. The first time for me to see an animal do its camouflage thing and it was pretty cool.
Other honourable creature mentions (I wish I had pictures) are:
The common myna that looked like the most awkward bird walking around but in flight was gracious with beautiful red and white plumage under its wings.
The red-crested cardinal is an awesome bird to watch. It is comical looking but smartly so and if I were a super hero maybe I’d want to be red-cardinal girl.
The rock dove that was about as interesting as a pigeon but had a really weird sounding call that had me and Faron referring to “the laser bird” before we figured out who it was coming from.
That’s it for creatures. But wait – I’ve said nothing about fish and things in the sea! That could be a whole other post and, not having a waterproof camera, one without pictures. I might get to it…for now – off to my grandma’s 90th birthday party in Humboldt, SK.
