Hawaiian Monk Seal

I soon realized on my recent trip to Maui that a walk on the beach is not a guarantee to see a lot of native wildlife. The pervasive gulls that inhabit the shores of most American seasides don't call Hawaii home - they thrive along continental shelves that volcanic islands don't have. And most of the birds that populate the coastline, like cardinals, mynas and pigeons, are in fact introduced species that filled the habitat when endemic species were either hunted to extinction or chased up country by disease. So I relegated my animal searching and photography to exploring the vibrant and fertile coral reefs that were just several feet away under the gentle surf.

However I was especially excited one morning late in the trip when a Hawaiian monk seal decided to spend a few hours resting on the sands of Kaanapali Beach, right in front of our hotel. This species is endangered, and spends most of its time northwest of the main islands of Hawaii, on some smaller islets and atolls that are some of the oldest land masses in the archipelago. Only a few hundred of the little over a thousand surviving individuals have been seen in the bigger islands like Kauai, Oahu and Maui, and I was about to see one.

It seems that the seal that paidd my vacation spot a visit has been seen in the area before. In fact she's been marked, and has been tracked over the years. F1, as the tagging identifies her, is a 14 year-old female and has already given birth to six pups. She was even spotted ashore the month before, stopping traffic when the nearby roadside beach got a little too wet for sunbathing during an especially high tide.

Not too long ago, a much younger seal had to be removed from the area because he was playing with divers near the shore - a dangerous encounter when your playmate thinks your supply of oxygen is a toy. And also last month, another seal, RH58, gave birth to her tenth pup on the island of Oahu. Her first nine were all born on Kauai. Welcome to these slowly recovering creatures, may we all give you the kokua (love and help) you deserve to prosper again in your native habitat.