Mike in the Wild

I soon realized on my recent trip to Maui that a walk on the beach is not a guarantee to see a lot of native wildlife.  The pervasive gulls that inhabit the shores of most American seasides don't call Hawaii home - they thrive along continental shelves that volcanic islands don't have.  And most of the birds that populate the coastline, like cardinals, mynas and pigeons, are in fact introduced species that filled the habitat when endemic species were either hunted to extinction or chased up country by disease.  So I relegated my animal searching and photography to exploring the vibrant and fertile coral reefs that were just several feet away under the gentle surf. However I was especially excited one morning late in the trip when a Hawaiian monk seal decided to spend a few hours resting on the sands of Kaanapali Beach, right in front of our hotel.  This species is endangered, and spends most of its time northwest of the main islands of Hawaii, on some smaller islet...

I remember the first time I snorkeled, almost 30 years ago, in the Caribbean, and being struck by the beauty and colors of the fish on the coral reefs.  No species stood out more than the parrotfish, with its pastel shades of pinks, blues and greens that seemed more fitting in an Easter basket than in an underwater habitat. While just recently snorkeling in Maui, I was able to reacquaint with the parrotfish's Pacific cousins, who are just as colorful and exotic as the ones I met so long ago.   And with descriptive names like stareye, redlip, bullethead and palenose, how could an encounter not be an adventure? Bullethead parrotfish. Bullethead parrotfish. Bullethead parrotfish. Palenose parrotfish. Palenose parrotfish. The parrotfish is related to the wrasse. Shown above is the Christmas wrasse, glowing brightly in the foreground.  Behind is the much larger stareye parrotfish, with a whitemouth moray to the left.   Christmas wrasse ...

The triggerfish of Hawaii get a lot of attention because one of them, the reef triggerfish, is the official state fish of the Aloha state.  But the butterflyfish are often called the most beautiful fish on the coral reef, while the surgeonfish might actually be the most prevalent there.  I recently featured the triggerfish or the humuhumus in this blog, but take a look at these shots of two equally colorful and exotic families of fish that call the coral reefs of Maui home. Threadfin butterflyfish. Fourspot butterflyfish. Oval butterflyfish. Raccoon butterflyfish. Longnose butterflyfish. Ornate butterflyfish. Teardrop butterflyfish. Moorish idol.  While it's as bright and colorful as a butterflyfish, it's actually closer to the family of surgeonfish. Gold-ring surgeonfish. Achilles tang or surgeonfish. Yellow tang, also a type of surgeonfish. Brown surgeonfish. Ringtail surgeonfish. Sailfin tang, another ty...

Nothing is more exciting for a snorkeler than an encounter with a sea turtle.  Graceful, peaceful and gentle, the green sea turtles of Hawaii don't seem to be afraid of the humans that swim close to them.  In fact, they often glide right by you as you're exploring a reef, seemingly oblivious to the harm that mankind is capable of wielding.  Fortunately in Maui today, it seems relatively easy to encounter one of these endangered denizens of the sea. If you're paying close attention, it's not difficult to find a sea turtle resting deep at the bottom of the sea, protected mostly by a reef's ledge.  More than twenty feet below the surface of the water, he'll usually surface after five minutes for a breath of air or two. Other times, you may find a turtle eating the algae and sea grass that cover rocks close to the shore line and the water's surface.  Even a walk along a beach might find one basking in the sand, either resting, sunning or just finding safety ...