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Hawaiian Monk Seal

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Hawaiian monk seal images (Neomonachus schauinslandi) - stock photos & facts on this highly endangered, endemic species that is Hawaii's state mammal

Conservation status | Endangered
Scientific classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Carnivora > Clade: Pinnipedia > Family: Phocidae > Genus: Neomonachus > Species: N. schauinslandi
Binomial name | Neomonachus schauinslandi

The Hawaiian monk seal, Neomonachus schauinslandi (formerly Monachus schauinslandi), are among the most endangered species of all seals. It is estimated only 1,200 individuals remain as of 2008, and the population continues to decline. The Hawaiian monk seal was officially designated as an endangered species on November 23, 1976 and is protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is illegal to kill, capture or harass a Hawaiian monk seal.

To raise awareness for the species' plight, the Hawaiian monk seal was declared Hawaii's official state mammal on June 11, 2008. The Hawaiian monk seal is Hawaii's only pinniped. It is a species that is considered endemic to the islands meaning that the species is unique to the region and is believed to have evolved there.

Hawaiian monk seals breed in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the chain of islands stretching 1,200 miles northwest from Honolulu to Kure Atoll. These remote islands and atolls, mostly uninhabited by humans, provide the privacy the monk seals need, making an ideal habitat for these easily disturbed creatures, and the pristine coral reefs provide the monk seal with its food supply of spiny lobsters, octopuses, eels, and various reef fishes. On occasion they can be seen around the larger, populated Hawaiian islands, where the islanders call them Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua which means "dog that runs in rough waters."

Erosion on the remote atolls of the haul out and pupping beaches of the North Western Hawaiian Islands is causing more seals to be seen in the main islands, with a subsequent heavier toll of death due to disturbance by people and dogs and disease. An adult Hawaiian monk seal is usually dark grey or brown with a light grey or yellow belly and can weigh anywhere from 396 to 595 pounds. Mothers stay with their pups from birth to about five or six weeks, never leaving them unprotected to go feed. During this time, she will lose as much as 300 pounds in weight. Pups usually weigh 24 to 33 pounds at birth and weigh up to 132 to 198 pounds when the mother departs and the pup is on its own to learn to catch food. Their enemies include humans, sharks, diseases, and marine debris such as lost fishing nets and plastic products. Life expectancies are from 25 to 30 years.
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