Hawaii

Hawaii, the most remote island chain on Earth, offers sanctuary for wildlife that has reached its tropical shores. From humpback whales to waterfall-climbing fish, it’s home to an extraordinary wealth of wildlife.

Hawaii’s upland rivers provide a safe haven from predators for young gobies while also acting as a resource for food. To access these waters, gobies must face a treacherous climb, pulling themselves up an enormous waterfall using the suction from their mouths and fins. The journey can take days and around 99 percent of these tiny fish perish before they reach the top.

In honor of their seafaring ancestors, Hawaii hosts one of the world’s biggest canoe races every year, the Na Wahine O Ke Kai or “Women of the Sea.” The teams race across 42 miles of open ocean from the island of Molokai to Oahu, where they finish at the shores of Oahu’s capital city, Honolulu.

White terns were once revered by the ancient Polynesians who believed that the sight of this bird with a bill full of fish was a sign of nearby land. Though it’s believed that the arrival of humans resulted in the near extinction of this animal, in the last 60 years their numbers have risen from a single pair to over 2,000 birds across Honolulu.