Hawaiian Monk Seals

The Hawaiian Monk Seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is pretty much restricted to the northwestern Hawaiian Islands from Nihoa to Kure Atoll, although in recent years they have started to occasionally be sighted around some of the main Hawaiian Islands, particularly Kauai and Oahu. During the 1970s when I did most of my diving in Hawaii, I never heard of sightings around the main islands. They also occasionally show up around Johnston Atoll, about 800 km south of its typical range, and a few aggressive males have been relocated there to protect other members of this highly endangered species.

The large seals frequently hauled out on the beaches. Although we tried to keep our distance, at times you'd come out on the beach and there would be several right there. They seemed to have no fear of or interest in humans.

The loran tower and Kure pier can be seen in the background. I approached this seal wondering if it was even alive.

It was.

Although we tried to keep our distance, they often did not reciprocate.

When I was working at the Mid-Pacific Research Lab on the Marshall Islands' Enewetak Atoll in the early 1980s, one Marshallese visitor to the lab commented on a photo of a Hawaiian Monk Seal we had mounted on our wall. He asked about the animal in the photo and said he had been on the Marshall Islands' atoll of Maloalap when he was younger, in the 1940s or 1950s. While he was there, one of those came ashore. It was a large one, longer than the tallest man. Unfortunately, the islanders had never seen one before, and killed this one. He said people thought it was some sort of demon. It was a shame; that seal explorer was probably pretty tired from swimming about 3000 km. The species has been declining in population for many years, so it would be nice if they could somehow expand their range. The northwestern Hawaiian chain is now a protected habitat, and with the Coast Guard Loran Station gone, there is no longer a frequent human presence on Kure. Maybe the seals will do better in solitude. However, they still have to worry about tiger sharks. The link in this sentence shows a still living monk seal that had recently been bitten by a large tiger. WARNING: the photo is unpleasantly graphic.

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