09 Jul It’s Wild(life) at Hyatt in Kaanapali

Penguins. Cranes. Swans. Flamingos. Parrots. Oh my. It’s Wild!

Enter the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, and step into an atrium filled with exotic plants and even more exotic wild animals. Approximately 50 birds make their home in the hotel. They are a varied 21 species with the most popular residents being the African Black Footed Penguins and African Crowned Cranes.

Visitors can experience a one-hour Wildlife Tour offered by an employee naturalist that explains the partnership between the hotel and nature. Christopher Hemmeter, the developer of the hotel, was an avid bird enthusiast and incorporated lake-sized swimming pools and exotic animals into the layout of the resort, along with expensive Asian artworks and acres of brass and marble.

Those on the tour can see some of the resort’s first animal inhabitants that are still in residence today: Sammy the Moluccan Cockatoo, R2D2 the African Grey, and Spike the African Crowned Crane.

A crowd pleaser, Roger the Blue and Gold Macaw is outgoing and expressive. She waves her foot and hangs upside down on her perch. Flirty and active, she’ll often be heard saying “hello” to her admirers. Since there is no outward appearance to depict males from females, Roger’s DNA was recently tested and “she” was found to be a female.

Swan Court restaurant borders a garden pond where the white and black penguins glide and baby ducks waddle along the lawns. Recent additions of parrots, cranes and a group of baby ducks have come from the Honolulu Zoo.

Maui’s warm weather and gentle trade winds seem to suit the birds and is similar to the African Black Footed Penguins original habitat. The penguins are sheltered from sun in a garden setting with a fresh water pond for play.

The Wildlife Tour is open to the public and offered Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10 a.m. All ages are welcome complimentary. Visitors are free to drop in and out along the tour route. For information, contact the resort.