On my trip to Kauai Hawaii I expected many of the things I saw. The ocean, fish, palm trees, and flowers, but one thing I didn’t expect to see were thousands of chickens frolicking around the island.

Kauai is a beautiful, green island covered in plants and trees. There is a reason it is called the garden island. It doesn’t have many animals there, however. Most life around the island other than people live in and wander the salty water, so other than bugs and lizards, chickens are the only wildlife on the island.

Now you may be wondering, “Why is Kauai filled with chickens?” Well, there is actually a pretty interesting story behind it.

Back in 1992 on Sept. 11 Kauai had its first and only (so far) hurricane, Hurricane Inika. This hurricane caused $1.8 million of damage and took six lives. It completely destroyed and tore apart Kauai; the damage took several years to repair.

So what does hurricane Inika have to do with all these chickens? Well, along with causing mass destruction it let all of Kauai’s domesticated chickens out of their farms. After the hurricane everyone was so busy taking care of bigger things that no one really bothered rounding up all the chickens.

The chickens multiplied and bred with other birds for almost 24 years, so they would be bound to produce masses of chickens and cross-bred birds.

Chickens also have no predator on the island, including people. It is actually illegal to kill a wild chicken in Kauai.

I found it awfully funny that chickens were a somewhat sacred bird on this beautiful Hawaiian island. They roam everywhere on the island — I mean everywhere. You’ll find them at restaurants, hotels, hiking paths, beaches, stores, you name it.

If you ever find yourself in Kauai, keep an eye out for the sacred chicken. Although you probably won’t have to given that they are everywhere.