Kauai's Chickens

In Kauai, chickens rule. They stop traffic in downtown Lihue and beg like squirrels in local parks. You can find them at the beach, in the forest, and crowing outside your window at all hours. Their population is much higher than that of humans. The most common theory is that though the mongoose was introduced on the other Hawaiian islands in the late 1800s to control the rat population, when the mongoose crate arrived in Kauai either it was swept out to sea or a mongoose bit a deckhand and he dropped the crate in the water. In either case, while the mongoose gnaws away at the chicken population on other islands, the chickens live in bliss on Kauai. They live on fallen fruit and other scraps, and aren't very good to eat themselves, so though they are considered a nuisance, people generally leave them alone. Their mixed ancestry (cross-breeding with Filipino fighting cocks) is more obvious in the roosters. For many visitors, including us, they are a constant source of entertainment.