hawaiian monk seal!

Here is a once in a lifetime picture of an extinct Hawaiian monk seal and her baby resting on the beach of Kamiana in Hawaii. This picture obviously was not taken with a fancy camera, simply on my Iphone and does not do justice, but like I said was a ONCE IN A LIFETIME experience. This was taken on my FIRST TIME EVER trip to Hawaii, May of 2021. (THIS YEAR). Once I heard the news of Hawaii’s local monk seal giving birth just a few days before I arrived, I knew I had to witness this myself. Of course, the mother and pup where safely blocked off from tourists like me!! After this experience I knew I wanted to learn more!!!!

The Hawaiian monk seal is is one of two remaining monk seal species endangered of earless seal family. The Hawaiian monk seal is the only seal native to Hawaii and is precious. There are only around 1400 hawaiian monk seals left so they are an endangered animal. After learning that the Hawaiian name for monk seal meant “dog running in the rough water.” I WAS OBBSESSED!! Having two “land puppies” I fell in love. As I sat and watched for an hour the mother and pup just say there with the waves crashing up against them. Not a care in the world. Nothing but nature at its finest. Of course after the trip, I wanted to know more, see more and started looking up so much, I actually follow the mother and her pup on facebook, who they actually just named “Loli” . Loli was named by one of the local school kids! I keep learning more and more and have since learned that the Hawaiian monk seals are endemic to Hawaii and are the only marine mammal found solely in U.S. waters. The `majority of them live in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and about 200 are found on the main islands. With the population currently declining at a rate of 4 percent per year. The monk seals fear tiger shark predation, particularly of young pups which contributes significantly to the dwindling number.

Getting to witness this even firsthand was an amazing experience. watching the mother teach her pup how to swim, feed and survive on his own in the wild was a once in a lifetime for me. after this trip i have become obsessed with the marine life, sharks, seals, sea turtles and anything else that might live in the oceans. Becoming a marine biologist was always a childhood dream of mine but as most people, life happened and i never made that dream come true however after this experience i am strongly considering going back to school to help protect animals like these. watching first hand the bond the mother and pup have after only a few days was amazing . learning about them was amazing. i cannot wait to follow the journey of this mother and pup!

this feed my sole in ways i didn’t know needed feeding. from your mountains to your oceans. from swimming with sharks and sea turtles to seeing an endangered species and her pup to making friends with locals and realizing we the mainlanders have completely lost our way. the peace, the serenity, the happiness i experienced has been a once in a lifetime. i honestly cannot remember the last time i was this happy about the marine life! Like I said before, the picture isn’t the best, but the story and the experience behind it is what matters. This is real life wild right here!!! I hope this is enjoyed by others and it can open people up to seeing how important protecting these animals are.