His prognosis was grim. Bones on his wing were exposed. He suffered multiple abrasions, and he couldn't eat or walk.

"I didn't think he was going to make it," said wildlife biologist Cathleen Natividad Bailey to The Maui News. "He was really, really bad. . . . He could barely hold his head up."

In the days and weeks that followed, Bailey, other biologists and staff members kept a watchful eye on the bird, giving him all the tender loving care he needed.

He was fed Ensure and Pedialyte through a tube to keep his strength up and was kept warm by blankets and a heater.

Nene 817 (the number is on his leg band) also got his wounds cleaned constantly to prevent infection.

Biologists and staff members also continuously worked on rehabilitating him so he could again eat and live in the wild.

Now, Bailey and others are celebrating the brave bird's progress and his return to life outdoors in the park. And, even love is in the air, as he has found a mate.

"It's one of those success stories we can't really talk about so much because we don't have this many," Bailey said.

Another wildlife biologist, Joy Tamayose, said she's "just relieved" to see the nene adjust so well after being hurt.

"I was glad he had paired off again," Tamayose added.

While staff members cheer 817's comeback, they also want to remind park visitors to be careful when driving up and down Haleakala. "We'd like to ask people to slow down," Bailey said.

New signs have been placed around the park to caution visitors and motorists that there are approximately 250 to 300 nene at the national park. The nene is Hawaii's state bird and an endangered species.

In the past, nene, or Branta sandvicensis, have been run over and killed.

Thousands of dollars are spent every year in propagating nene geese in captivity on Maui and releasing them into the wild.

But things are complicated when nene and humans interact. For example, nene are territorial, according to Bailey.

"It's an ongoing problem that we have with nene on the road. How are you going to teach a nene that a road is where big cars are going by, when they are thinking this is my land, this is my territory," Bailey said. "The road goes right through their nesting areas."

Tamayose said motorists should be extra cautious as the nene are only about 2 feet tall.

"These are medium-sized geese," she said. "To a car, it's nothing. The car is obviously going to win."

Tamayose said she and other biologists would like to have a rehabilitation area at the crater to handle injured birds in the future.

"This is not the first time, and I hate to say it, it probably will happen again somewhere down the line," Tamayose said.

Nene 817 was run over by a car around 12:30 a.m. March 4, just past the entrance station to the park at the Hosmer junction and a temporary nene crossing sign.

Operations Supervisor Kiefer Gier was able to pick up the nene an hour after it was hit, and Bailey was called the next morning to take the nene to the Makawao Veterinary Clinic.

"When I received the bird, it was alert, but it was weak and it had multiple abrasions," Bailey said.

She added that a veterinarian could not tell if the nene had internal damage, but said there were no broken bones.

"His advice was just watch it carefully," she said.

Bailey took the nene home over the weekend and fed it through a tube.

"I tried to get his nutrition up," she said.

Bailey cleaned the bird's wounds, and kept him warm with blankets and a heater.

"After a few days, he actually started biting me," which was a good sign, Bailey said.

After the weekend, the nene was taken back to the national park to be taken care of by biologists and staff members there.

But early on, he still needed extra care over the weekend, so Tamayose took him home and every hour tried to rehabilitate him by making him eat on his own.

She dipped his beak into water and into a mush made from chicken scratch and water.

Tamayose said the rehabilitation process was a hard one for both biologists and the nene. The bird, born and raised in the wild, must have been under stress as he was hurt and in a confined environment.

Biologists and staff took extra time to care for the nene, but it eventually paid off.

After nearly two weeks since the accident, the nene began walking well on his own.

"That's because we kept on feeding and feeding, it was pretty intensive rehab," Bailey added.

Staff members continued to care for the nene's needs and picked ohelo berries and other types of natural food to place in the bird's pen next to the biologist's office at the park.

A month after being hit, the nene "was starting to show signs of a normal bird," Bailey said.

He began to hiss and get upset when biologists invaded his territory.

By mid-April, he was then placed into a larger release pen where he could eat native shrubbery on his own. Biologists then put a radio transmitter on him to track his movements.

Eventually, it was time to let him go.

Biologists left the nene's pen gate open and "he walked away," Bailey said.

"We were so excited when he finally left," Tamayose added.

But there's one thing Bailey and others are not happy about. Nene 817 is back on the road.

"Apparently, he hasn't learned his lesson yet," she said.