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Having lived here on Maui, since 1976, or was that 75??????? Well, things are still a little fuzzy from back then, these are the changes I have noticed,,,,,When the Wailea Shopping Center was new, maybe 1978, I'ld go down there for banking, noticed, one day, a common chameleon, you know, the kind that were sold as pets on the mainland, they could change colors, green to brown, on the trellis outside the bank,,, had never seen one on Maui before, now, they're all over the place,,,giving the geckos some competition,, fortunately the geckos are on the night shift,,,,,,, used to see bufos, those big bullfrogs, that were brought over here years ago by the sugar cane growers, one would sleep, as it were, in a bowl that I kept on the lanai, filled with water, and after a good rainfall, kind of rare here in Kihei, you'ld see them all over the place,,,, unfortunately they weren't very good at dodging traffic, very rarely see them in Kihei any more. The white egrets, never saw them on Maui, used to see them on Oahu every now and then, all of the sudden, or so it seemed, they were all over Maui.... Haven't seen one now in quite a while,,, Axis deer, this is a good one, rancher up in Ulupalakua was breeding them for venison, which he in turn sold to various restuarants in Wailea, well, a few got loose, wandered down to Wailea, and the golf course, in search of water and something to eat,,, well,,HEELLLLOOOOOO, golf course= water hazard= water, plus all kinds of shrubbery to eat, a veritable Axis deer buffett,,, don't know if they eat golf balls,, that would probably cost you a stroke, but, if the deer managed to get up to the green and regurgitate the golf ball near the pin?????? You just never know... Rabbits, they do really breed like rabbits, got loose up at Haleakala Park a few years back, little up there to eat, so they started dining on the Silversword Plant, that didn't last long, although I'm certain the park rangers were enjoying the occaisional BBQ'd wabbit. Jackson Chameleons, you know, the horney ones, don't really know how horney they are, used to be found only up at the Pali lookout on Oahu, now, they're everywhere!!!!! And, evidently, are just as horny!!! (Well, they must be,,,,,,just do the math!!!) The veiled chameleon, relative newcomer to Maui, but gets to be up to two feet long, can reproduce in numbers that would make the Jackson's jealous, are now a problem out on the West side of Maui, they eat pretty much anything,,,,, And, the wallabys, those miniature kangaroos, have been out in the Koolaus on Oahu for years..... Then, there's the parrots, commom green ones, make the farmers out in Haiku and Hana go nuts, what does a parrot like?????? Nice green mango,,,,,,or, maybe,,,,, a papaya or two!!!! Macadamia nuts,,,,(maybe just for the exercise), Green finches, those really small birds with the humongous eyes, another house pet that got away,,,,,,to be followed, in short order, by the Chinese Finch, kind of black and white, with a red beak, very territorial, and downright rude at times!!!!! Of course there was the "Maui Black Panther" story from a few years back, people were sighting this thing all the way from Haiku to Wailea, (those in Haiku may have been smoking something though), and now, we have the Iguana, sighted out in Nuuanu a few days ago,,,,,,,,which, brings me to this,,,Shopping, a few years back at Foodland here in Kihei, glanced at the local paper, a few dogs down at Big Beach, that being Makenna, were seen chasing what appeared to be a "greenish" mongoose, up the beach and into the kiawe trees..Turned out that the authorities decided it was some kind of lizard, more than likely an iguana, so, I mentioned to the cashier, newcomer to the Islands, "How could anyone be so stupid as to bring an igauna to Hawaii?????" Her response, " I know, my brother has one, it got loose just the other day, he can't find it anywhere?" Me, "Where does he live, California??????", her response, "Nopes, Lahaina",,,,,,, go figure???????
Aloha and okolemaluna
Aloha and okolemaluna
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