Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 4, 1 April 1994 — Ke ao nani Naturally Hawaiian [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ke ao nani Naturally Hawaiian

by Patrick Ching artist/environmentalist

Seals head south

I became aware of the existence of the Hawaiian monk seal in 1979, my junior year in high school. While breezing through a Time-Life book, I was stopped cold by a photograph of a seal

lying on a tropical beach. As I read the accompanying text. I was astonished to learn that this was a Hawaiian seal; one that exists nowhere else on earth. At that time, monk seals were rarely seen around the main Hawaiian islands. They lived

almost exclustvely on the remote islets and atolls whieh extend over 1,200 miles northwest of Ni'ihau. Today monk seals are coming

around the main Hawaiian islands more frequently — especially the islands of Ni'ihau and Kaua'i.

If you're fortunate enough to see a seal lying out on the beach, appreciate it from a distance and remind others to do the same.

According to Keith Robinson, whose family holds the deed to Ni'ihau, monk seals were virtually

non-existent on the island prior to 1970. Since then the seal population has increased steadily until reaching a peak in 1991, at whieh

t i m e Robinson estimated there were 50 or so fat, healthy seals using the island. Kaua'i presently has four to six resi-

dent seals whieh are regularly seen and identified by their scars. The first documented birth of a monk seal on Kaua'i was in 1961 at Polihale beach. Throughout the 1980s it was still very rare to see a seal on or around the populated

Hawaiian islands, so it eame as quite a surprise when a seal was born on Kaua'i's south shore in 1988. The summer of 1991 was another highlight in monk seal history as two seals were born on the main islands; one eaeh on the north shores of O'ahu and Kaua'i. What was onee a freak occurrence is now becoming more eommon as more seals are hauling out onto beaches that for so many years have been the

domain of humans. Monk seals are an endangered species with an estimated population of about 1,500 animals. According to censuses taken by the National Manne Fisheries Service, the monk seal population has not greatly increased in recent years. However, more seals are inhabiting islands toward the southeastern end of their range. When a monk seal appears on a populated beach, it usually attracts

a lot of attention. Some curious observers may approach the seal in order to take its picture or prod at it simply to see it move. Dogs also harass resting seals who usually retreat into the water when disturbed. Whenever a seal is chased into the water, it is not only being deprived of its needed rest, but is unnecessarily being forced into the sea where it is vulnerable to shark attacks. If you're fortunate enough to see a seal

lying out on the beach, appreciate it from a distance and remind others to do the same. Whether or not the seals continue to haul out on the shores of the main Hawaiian islands will depend largely on the actions and attitudes of Hawai'i's people. ( Editor's note: Patrick Ching is author of a new book, The Hawaiian Monk Seal, whieh will be published later this year by the University ofHawai'i Press.)

Monk seal mom and newborn pup