b'C H A P T E R 8 | H I S T O R YT H E WA IKOLOA NIGH TINGA L Ef all the iconic animals we associate with Hawai`ihumpback whales, pueo, even the beloved geckothe donkey most likely doesnt make the list. And while they dont walk comically upside down on our ceilings, majestically circle the skies, or leap playfully from the ocean, donkeys were integral to the success of Hawai`i Islands coffee industry in its early days, and hold an important place in the states agricultural history.Still spotted occasionally in the lava fields nearwiththeHawai`iHumaneSocietyinrecent Waikoloa Beach Resort and Waikoloa Village,years to care for and find adoptive homes for the Waikoloa Nightingalesas they are calledthe Waikoloa herd. A few ended up on the for the semi-melodious braying noise they makeBig Island, working the higher elevation coffee day and night, distinct from the typical honkingfarms on the slopes of Huallai. Theyre sure-of a donkeyare descendants of those workingfooted and hearty animals, and they can pack animals that helped coffee farmers get their prod- more per pound than horses.uct to market almost 200 years ago. The donkeys proved to be invaluable for the coffee farmers for more than 100 years, packing B E A S T O F B U R D E N loads of coffee cherries from the rugged moun-Donkeys first came to Oah`u as pack animalstainside fields down to the drying and roasting in 1825, tells Dr. Brady Bergin, a Waimea- facilities around Kona, and from there to the coast based veterinarian who has spearheaded effortswhere the beans would be shipped to market. 9 5'