Sea Creature Spotlight: Hawaiian Monk Seal

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Hawaiian monk seal (source)

Hawaiian monk seals

This sea creature spotlight is about the Hawaiian monk seal. This seal is endangered (learn more about endangered species). I like the Hawaiian monk seal because it is an amazing creature. It is sad, in my opinion, that it is endangered and so I wanted to learn more about these beautiful creatures.

How many types of monk seals are there?

Mediterranean monk seal (source)

There are two types of monk seals. One is the Hawaiian, while the other is the Mediterranean monk seal.

Forgotten relative?

The Hawaiian monk is thought to have an extinct type of monk seal relative called the Caribbean monk seal.

Where exactly do Hawaiian monk seals live?

Their name gives away where Hawaiian monk seals live, but since Hawaii is made up of lots of islands. Here's a look at where exactly you will find Hawaiian monk seals...

Monks seals leave entirely in U.S. waters surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian islands, primarily in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument area.  According to the Marine Mammal Center, there are six main breeding subpopulations in this area.

You'll likely find Hawaiian monk seals at:

Kure Atoll

Midway Islands

Pearl and Hermes Reef

Lisianski Island

Laysan Island

French Frigate Shoals

Did you know??

Something cool about the Hawaiian monk seal is that they are the only seal native to Hawaii.

The ancient Hawaiian name for Hawaiian monk seals, llio holo l ka uaua, means "dog that runs in rough water."

Monk seals get their name from their resemblance to monks... they have bald heads, sometimes have solitary habits, and they have a little fold of skin that looks like a monks hood!

They spend much of their day sleeping and they hunt at night. They eat things like fish, lobster and octopus.

Watch Hawaiian monk seals...

Learn more about Hawaiian monk seals and what you can do to help them in this video from NOAA:

Thanks for learning about Hawaiian monk seals with me!

I think they are very interesting and cool! I feel we should do our part to protect them and I hope you do too!

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Endangered Species

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This is a special post on endangered species. Endangered species are species that are almost extinct. Extinct means that there isn't any more of its kind left.

Some examples of extinct animals are:

• the dodo bird
• the woolly mammoth
• saber tooth tiger
• and dinosaurs 

This is not only sad, but the loss of an animal species can also trigger a 'domino effect' that harms other animal populations. If an animal is food for another animal and then it's gone there is a hole in the food chain. There are so many reasons why we must do our part to protect endangered animals and do what we can to help them from becoming extinct.

Some examples of endangered animals are:

Red panda (source)

Hawaiian monk seal (source)

Aye-aye (source)

Manatee (source)

• Hawaiian monk seals
• red pandas
• aye-ayes (primarily endangered)
• and up until recently, manatees (downgraded from endangered to threatened)

Some of these are sadly caused by humans. Aye-ayes' trees have been cut down by humans and, as you can see from my manatee article, some animals do not have no natural predators, but they are still endangered... again because of humans. Animals like sea turtles and manatees are getting hit by boats motors, consuming trash that makes it way into their habitats, being harmed by oil spills and more.

What animals are endangered in my area?

If you are looking to find out what animals are endangered close to where you live, you can visit the U.S. Fish & Wildlife web site and actually search by state. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife website has a whole bunch of great information on endangered animals. They also observe Endangered Species annually and kids can get involved and participate in an art contest. This year Endangered Species Day will be on May 19, 2017 and you can find information about event scheduled across the U.S. on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife site...you can even download a kit and host your own event!

What can we do to help endangered animals?

We can help by how we live and act. Here's a few every day things that you can do to help...

• recycling
• picking up garbage
• not wasting resources (conservation)
• upcycling (using boxes, bags and jars in other ways in our homes)
• not letting go of balloons out side  (because they can make their way to animals and they can eat them
• not littering and polluting
• education 
• volunteering
• contributing to zoos, aquariums and wildlife organizations

Want to know more about endangered animals and how they become endangered?

Here's a video from SciShow Kids that gives some great information about animals and how they become endangered.

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