Bob White had always loved doing crossword puzzles with his dad, especially clues like “Hawaiian goose,” which answer was nene. He often wondered if he’d ever see one in the wild — and recently, he finally got his chance.
White was at Haleakalā National Park headquarters in Maui, Hawaii, when he spotted a nene gliding overhead. Excited, he reached for his camera — but the bird had already flown past. He snapped a photo anyway, capturing the nene from an unusual angle.
When he later looked at the image, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“As soon as I downloaded the photo, I couldn’t help seeing the cat head,” White told The Dodo. “But knowing what it actually was, I knew I had evidence of having seen it.”
From that perspective, the nene looked remarkably like a flying cat, complete with what seemed to be little ears. The odd angle made it appear like something out of a fantasy movie — a creature most people have never imagined soaring across the sky.
Once White shared the photo online, people went wild.
“I’m amazed the photo got over 5,000 likes in Crap Wildlife Photography,” White said. “It really does look like a cat’s head riding one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons. I’m still not sure if the ‘ears’ are its feet or tail feathers.”
After waiting so long to spot a nene in the wild, White hadn’t expected to capture a quirky, almost magical moment — but the “flying cat” photo turned out to be the perfect memento of his adventure.
