Two ne-ne have hatched at Paignton Zoo in Devon. But what-what is a ne-ne?
It’s a species of goose - one of the rarest in the world. Found on the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiian goose or ne-ne is named after its call, a soft neh-neh sound.
It’s officially classed as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Paignton Zoo is home to eight adult ne-ne as well as these two goslings.
It’s believed that it was once common, but human activity put paid to that. The ne-ne is the official bird of the state of Hawaii.
These geese are part of a global, public-participatory piece I am working on in collaboration with Professor Stuart Bearhop of Exeter University. I am sending out 10,000 postcards in the shape of migratory geese all over the world, asking people to write on them and post them back to me. Those that return to complete their ‘migration’ will hang in a huge installation in the shape of a flock of birds at Hope Hall, Heavitree in Exeter during Devon Open Studios in September.
As individuals, birds are vulnerable, insignificant - en masse, in migration, they signify a powerful force of...
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