Product Details

• Directors: Paul Atkins
• Writers: Thomas Radcliffe Atkins
• Producers: Paul Atkins, Grace Atkins, Julia Mair
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304474911
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,051 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This beautiful but tragic video offers a thorough overview of the delicate and varied ecosystems found on the Hawaiian Islands. More than almost anywhere else in the world, these islands had been untouched and have existed in "splendid isolation." But since humankind's arrival, nearly 70 percent of Hawaii's native species have disappeared. The non-native feral pig, for instance, is the worst scourge; this pig has no natural predators and has invaded every island. Neither sugar cane nor pineapples are native. Birds, fish, insects, and turtles all play important roles in species' disappearance. Perhaps the most powerful image of the documentary is the sight of humans rappelling down the cliffs of Molokai to hand pollinate endangered flowers, the perfect symbol for how precariously close we have pushed nature to its own demise. Now humans must intervene to rescue what we have nearly destroyed. --Cristina Del Sesto

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wildlife in Hawaii, July 18, 2003

By 

ophelia99 (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: National Geographic Video: Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A good introduction to some of the wildlife in Hawaii and how a few species which arrived there evolved into unique species. The description of how man and other animals have arrived and altered the life and landscape of the islands.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Natural beauty, thy name is Hawaii, February 27, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: National Geographic Video: Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands caused a completely unique ecosystem to develop. Hundreds of species native to the islands exist nowhere else on Earth and the pressure of human presence is driving many of them close to the brink of extinction. This tape describes the incredible diversity of the flora and fauna of the Hawaiian Island chain and many of the efforts that modern humans are engaged in as they try to maintain the endangered species.
Everything from shooting feral pigs to keep them from rooting out the soil to climbing seaside cliffs to cross-pollinate flowers that otherwise could not do so is demonstrated. Throughout it all one is incredibly impressed by the beauty of the islands, the physical beauty of the sea to the snow-capped mountains and the natural beauty of the plants and animals that are native to the region. There is no doubt that it must be preserved.