The Hawaiian Monk Seal

The Hawaiian Monk Seal

The majestic sandy beaches of Hawaii. The peaceful relaxing calm of the beach. This is the

ideal vacation for any family. And then there's this guy:

(www.fisheries.noaa.gov)

This is the Hawainn Monk Seal, a pile of fat and cuteness and is currently one of the most endangered sea mammals. The name Hawaiian Monk Seal comes from their fold of skin the resemble a monk's cowl and that they are usually seen alone or in small groups. The Hawaiian Monk Seal is one of the two surviving monk seal species, the other being the Mediterranean Monk Seal. The third species, the Caribbean Monk Seal, went extinct in the 1950's. While seals normally prefer to live in cold climates the Hawaiian Monk Seal prefers the warmer beaches of Hawaii and are unfortunately suffering because of it. Within the past 50 years the Hawaiian Monk Seal population has fallen 60% and this is due to a multitude of problems mostly caused by humans.

(koloalandingresort.com)

What Is This Creature?

The Hawaiian Monk Seals are one of the oldest monk seals species that still retain primitive features found in fossils from 14 million years ago.  They are, quite literally, a living fossil. They are normally shiny grey in color but can have a slight red or green tinge due to attached algae, while newborns are born black. These newborns will eventually molt and become grey. The Hawaiian Monk Seal can weigh up to 610 pounds and will often lose 300 pounds after pregnancy but on average they are 375-400 pound (the females tend to be larger than the males). They will have a life period of 25-30 years and will reach maturity around the age of 5. Mainly they are carnivores, categorized as "bethnic", eating a variety of fish and mollusks. The adults are mainly nocturnal hunters while the juveniles will forage underneath the sand or rocks closer to shore. Hawaiian Monk Seals will spend 2/3rds of their life in the water only going on land to breed and haul-out on sand, corals and volcanic rock.

Where do these Creatures live?

The monk seal mainly only lives in the Northern Hawaiian, islands that historically have had a very small human populations. The will mainly forage around the surrounding atolls and coral reefs looking for food.  The Northern Hawaiian Islands have historically been uninhabited by humans but this is quickly changing.

(

The main breeding grounds for the monks seal is the French Frigate, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl and Herems Reef while there are smaller subpopulations at Necker and Niihau Island. The main amount of Hawaiian Monk Seals reside at the French Frigate Island but will need to expand in order to survive. Although it should be noted that the French Frigate Island did not always have the largest population of Hawaiian Monk Seals. During the 1930's and 40's the United Sates Navy disturbed the population on the Eastern Islands causing them to become depleted. This resulted in the population on the French Frigate Island to grown rapidly reaching its critical mass and going beyond it. Because of this the French Frigate Island population has slowly been decreasing for the past decade.

So What's Wrong with this Creature?

The Hawaiian Monk Seal is currently critically endangered with an estimated 1,100 still alive. They have been thriving on Hawaii for the past 13 million years so, what happened? It started in the 1800's when the Hawaiian Monk Seal was hunted close to extinction, to the point where many believed they had actually been completely eradicated. However expeditions in the mid 20th industry began to report a rising Hawaiian Monk Seal population until the 1950's. From the 1950's onward there has been a 4% decline in the population per year. This (obviously) does not bode well for the species and the entire population has declined by 60% since the 1950's.

So What Happened to this Creature?

The Hawaiian Monk Seal is currently facing a number of life threatening challenges. Besides being hunted almost to extinction there has been an increase of predators in the Hawaiian Monk Seal habitat. Most notably there has been an increase in tiger sharks which often will eat the Hawaiian Monk Seals before they can reach maturity. The Hawaiian Monk Seal has also become a victim of by-catch from the various fishing vessels off the coast that have begun encroaching on the their habitat. Along with this, the juvenile Hawaiian Monk Seals are currently running low on food, most likely a result from the lobster industry that works near the Hawaiian Monk Seal habitat. The commercial lobster industry has since been disbanded until the Hawaiian Monk Seal can make a full recovery. They also suffer from entanglement from various fishing debris (mainly discarded fishing nets) which have begun to amass by their breeding grounds. The juveniles seem most prone to entanglement and has caused an estimated where, during one visit, 25 seals became entangled in debris. They are also suffering from getting caught in fishing lines off coast, where the Monk Seals often hunt. On top of all this, the female Monk Seals are currently suffering from "mobbings" by the male seals. Caused by the major skew in population (there is a vast majority of male seals) female seals will often be attacked by a gang of male seals attempting to mate; this usually results in her death. This self-destructive behavior is causing an even greater skew in the already greatly skewed population of Hawaiian Monk Seals.

So What Are We Doing About It?

The Hawaiian Monk Seal is endangered and has been since 1976. Luckily for these butterballs of skin and fur they also have a recovery priority of one, meaning while they do face the risk of extinction they also have a very strong possibility of recovery. In order to recover the Monk Seal various measures are being taken all based around maintaining the survival of the small female population and lowering juvenile mortality. Steps have been taken reserving various areas of beach and ocean for solely the monk seal, allowing no humans unless for research. A ban on log lining in the protected zone has also been implemented as well as programs that clean up the debris in the protected zone. These clean ups have amassed 700 tons in debris since they started in 1996. Sharks, in order to reduce predation, have been hazed away from Hawaiian Monk Seal breeding grounds, and forcefully removed through hook-and-line techniques. This has caused a decline in shark attacks but there is still a long way to go.

Is There Anything I Can Do?

I know what you're thinking, “these are so cute is there anything I can do to save these lumps of lard?”. Well there is, you can stop being such assholes to the ocean. Be sure to limit your debris that you throw into the ocean (it all goes somewhere) and try not to throw any nets into the ocean. Beyond that you can also donate to a couple lovely organizations (links below) that are all committed to saving the lubber with eyes we call the Hawaiian Monk Seal.

List of sources

http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/mpas/pacific-islands-conservation/hawaiian-monk-seals/

http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/PRD/prd_hms_population_threats.html

http://www.pifsc.noaa.gov/hawaiian_monk_seal/population_at_a_glance.php

http://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/the-phocid-seals/hawaiian-monk-seal

http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/education/marine-mammal-information/pinnipeds/hawaiian-monk-seal/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hawaiian-monk-seal/

http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/seals/hawaiian-monk-seal.html

List of places you can/should donate

http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/what-we-do/ke-kai-ola/

http://www.savemonkseals.ucsc.edu/

http://monksealfoundation.org/