HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK, Maui — Three rare nene geese have been killed by vehicles in the past week at national parks on Maui and the Big Island.

Haleakala National Park officials said an adult bird was run over sometime between 10:30 and 11 a.m. Tuesday about a quarter-mile above park headquarters at the 7,000-foot level. The bird was not banded so officials do not immediately know if it was male or female. The weather at the time was sunny and clear, so poor visibility does not seem to be a factor in the incident.

At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, a young pair that was preparing to nest was struck down on a road Nov. 1. "We had been keeping close track of them. They were a young pair just getting started," said park biologist Kathleen Misajon.

In both cases, park officials do not know who was responsible for the hit-and-run deaths.

About 250 of the endangered native geese live on Haleakala, and these were the first deaths by vehicle since 2002, said park biologist Cathleen Natividad Bailey. "October through March is peak nene nesting season at Haleakala, and they hang out on the roads to get to the other side, so to speak, to nest in the shrubs," she said.

Unlike other birds, nene do not flee from approaching vehicles, Bailey said. Irresponsible visitors feed the geese from their cars, and the nene have come to associate cars with food.

Areas nene are known to frequent at the Maui park include just inside the entrance, the road to Hosmer Grove, roadways near the park headquarters and the Halemau'u trailhead parking lot.

Permanent signs are posted along the park road to warn motorists about the possibility of encountering nene, and special signs were put in place in the past couple of weeks where the birds had been seen.

About 180 nene live within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, which recorded five deaths by vehicle during the past nesting season.

The birds also live in the wild in the West Maui mountains and on Kaua'i. Bailey said nene are considered to be one of the rarest geese in the world.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.