The most endangered seal in the waters of the United States is the Hawaiian Monk Seal and right now there is approximately 1200 left in existence. The Hawaiian Monk seal calls the northwest part of the Hawaiian Islands home.
Much of the time the Hawaiian Monk seal is at sea and able to stay out for a month or so at a time. This rare seal is able to stay under water for twenty minutes.
They like to eat sea creatures such as the octopus, eels, lobster and fish. Being able to dive about 600 feet helps them to have a variety of food for their meals.
While the Hawaiian Monk seal is the most endangered seal, it can live for 30 years if unbothered by humans. If you are visiting the islands of Hawaii in the summer, anytime from May to June you will more then likely find female Hawaiian Monk seals giving birth to a pup.
It may interest you to know that they only give birth to one baby a year. Once the pup is born the mother stays on land to care for the pup every single day for six weeks.
The mother never leaves, not even to eat. They survive off the fat that they stored up the entire year before giving birth and they feed the pup the fat rich milk.
While seals usually prefer to be on more secluded beaches where they will not be bothered by humans they have been seen on a few beaches in Oahu, Molokai and Kawai.
It is advised that if you come across the Hawaiian Monk Seals that you do not approach them. A new mother will abandon her new pup if a human comes to close. This can result in the death of the new pup that is not ready to fend for itself.
Right now there are laws that try to help save the young pups and keep the mothers safe from humans. It is against the law for a human to come within 100 yards of beached seal.
As that it is due to human interaction that the Hawaiian Monk Seal is endangered there are laws that protect them. The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act and the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge all work together to help protect the Hawaiian Monk Seal.
If while on vacation you come across the Hawaiian Monk seal here are a few things that you should absolutely NOT do:
Do not approach them in land or water. The monk seal may approach you out of curiosity but you are never to approach them. If you do you can be fined for harassment.
If you have to go by a beached monk seal, do so from about 100 feet away. This will help make sure that you are not disturbing them.
Avoid female monk seals and their pups.
If you see an injured or sick seal or if you see another person harassing a monk seal call the National Marine Fisheries Service in Honolulu at 808-955-8831.
