Editing Maui (section)

===Wildlife===
{{Main|Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands}}Maui is the leading [[Whale watching|whale-watching]] center in the Hawaiian Islands for the [[humpback whale]]s who winter in Maui County's sheltered [[Channels of the Hawaiian Islands|{{okina}}Au{{okina}}au Channel]]. These mammals migrate approximately {{cvt|3500|mi|km}} from [[Alaska]]n waters each autumn and spend November–April mating and birthing in the warm waters. They are typically sighted in pods: small groups of several adults, or groups of a mother, her calf, and a few suitors. Humpbacks are an [[endangered species]] protected by U.S. federal and Hawai{{okina}}i state law. An estimated 21,000-26,000 humpbacks live in [[Pacific Ocean|North Pacific]] waters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Humpback Whales |url=https://www.wildhawaii.org/wildlife/whales/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Hawaii Wildlife Fund |language=en-US}}</ref> Although they face many dangers, due to pollution, commercial vessels, and military sonar testing, their numbers have increased rapidly in recent years, estimated at 7% growth per year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Record Number of Whales Sighted During Great Whale Count |url=http://www.pacificwhale.org/news/news_detail.php?id=286 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225114415/http://www.pacificwhale.org/news/news_detail.php?id=286 |archive-date=2012-02-25 |access-date=2009-05-31 |publisher=pacificwhale.org}}</ref>[[File:Green_Sea_Turtle,_Maui.jpg|thumb|A [[green sea turtle]] near Maui]]
[[File:Resting Turtle.png|thumb|Turtle resting after a long swim in (Maui, Hawaii)]]
Birdlife lacks the concentration of endemic species found in some other Hawaiian islands. As recently as 200,000 years ago Maui was part of Maui Nui, thus reducing the odds that birds or other species would be endemic to any single one of these. Although Moloka{{okina}}i had several endemic bird species, in modern times Maui Nui's other islands host little endemic birdlife. During and after the Maui Nui period, Maui hosted a species of [[moa-nalo]] (also found on Moloka{{okina}}i, Lāna{{okina}}i, and Kaho{{okina}}olawe), a species of harrier (the [[wood harrier]], shared with Moloka{{okina}}i), an undescribed sea eagle (Maui only), and three species of ground-dwelling flightless ibis (''[[Apteribis]] sp.''), plus other species. Today, Maui's most notable surviving endemic birds are probably the [[ʻAkohekohe]] (''Palmeria dolei'') and the [[Maui parrotbill]] (''Pseudonestor xanthophrys''), also known as ''Kiwikiu'', both of which are critically endangered and only found in an alpine forest on the windward slopes of Haleakalā.

Conservation efforts have examined how to mitigate female parrotbill mortality since that is a key driving factor driving population decline. The parrotbill lacks resistance to mosquito-born diseases, particularly [[avian malaria]], so only forests above 1500 meters of elevation provide refuge. The habitat was undergoing restoration in east Maui as of 2018.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mounce |first1=Hanna L. |last2=Warren |first2=Christopher C. |last3=McGowan |first3=Conor P. |last4=Paxton |first4=Eben H. |last5=Groombridge |first5=Jim J. |date=May 9, 2018 |title=Extinction Risk and Conservation Options for Maui Parrotbill, an Endangered Hawaiian Honeycreeper |journal=Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=367–382 |doi=10.3996/072017-JFWM-059 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018JFWM....9..367M }}</ref> As Maui's human population grew, previously undeveloped areas that provided a refuge decreased in size. More than 250 species of local flora are federally listed as endangered or threatened.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maui Island Plan |url=https://www.mauicounty.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/26582 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402164953/https://www.mauicounty.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/26582 |archive-date=2022-04-02 |access-date=2022-03-30}}</ref> Birds found on other islands as well as Maui include the [[ʻIʻiwi]] (''Drepanis coccinea''], [[ʻApapane]] (''Himatione sanguinea''), [[Hawaiʻi ʻAmakihi]] (''Chlorodrepanis virens),'' as [[Maui ʻAlauahio]] (''Paroreomyza montana'') well as the [[Nene (bird)|Nene]] (''Branta sandvicensis'', Hawaii's state bird), [[Hawaiian coot]] (''Fulica alai''), [[Hawaiian stilt]] (''Himantopus mexicanus knudseni'').

In 2024, [[Haleakalā National Park]] began to employ the incompatible insect technique to reduce the park's mosquito population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=YAMANAKA |first=SARAH |date=March 29, 2023 |title=BLNR approves final plan to combat avian malaria on Maui |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/hi/hawaii/news/2023/03/28/blnr-approves-final-ea-to-combat-avian-malaria-on-maui |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=spectrumlocalnews.com |language=en}}</ref>

Maui is also home to the [[Hawaiian hoary bat]], Hawaii's only native terrestrial mammal. Marine mammals notably include [[Spinner dolphin|spinner]], [[Bottlenose dolphin|bottlenose]], and  [[spotted dolphin]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dolphins |url=https://www.wildhawaii.org/wildlife/dolphins/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Hawaii Wildlife Fund |language=en-US}}</ref>