SAVE HAWAIIAN MONK SEALS

Hawaiian monk seals are pinnipeds, which is the order of marine mammals including seals, sea lions and walruses. There are believed to be about 34 different species of pinnipeds. All are characterized by having large eyes, prominent snouts, streamlined shapes and four swimming flippers which typify the order. In fact, the word pinniped means "feather-" or "fin-footed" in Latin. Although they have successfully adapted to life in the sea, pinnipeds are thought to have evolved from terrestrial mammals about 20 million years ago and continue to retain strong ties to land. Their closest modern day terrestrial ancestors are the bear and the dog. Some biologists consider the pinnipeds to be so closely related to these species as to include them as members of order carnivora which includes the dogs, bears, wolves, raccoons and others. Whichever classification scheme you choose, the pinnipeds can be divided into three distinct families; 1) the Phocidae which are the "true," or earless seals 2) the Otariidae, the eared seals and sea lions, and 3) the Odobenidae, which includes only the walrus.

The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is Hawaii's only pinniped. It is a species that is considered endemic to the islands. The word endemic means that the species is unique to a region (i.e., is found no where else) and is believed to have evolved there. The monk seal is one of Hawaii's two endemic mammals. Hawaii's only other endemic mammal is the Hoary bat.

Many other species found in Hawaii are considered indigenous, which means that they arrived in the islands under natural conditions such as by wind or by water, but can also be found in a number of different regions. Examples of animals indigenous to Hawaii are the humpback whale, the green sea turtle, and the Laysan albatross. Species that are either endemic or indigenous to a particular region are also considered native, or naturally occurring, to that region.

In contrast, species that do not occur naturally in a region, but have been brought there by man or though human activity are called alien or introduced species. The introduction of alien species can often be detrimental to a native ecosystem if the species are not carefully managed. Examples of alien species found in Hawaii include the mongoose, the cockroach, ants and pigs.

Human interaction with monk seals, as well as all other pinnipeds, is largely due to their reproductive need to inhabit coastlines. Because Hawaiian monk seals evolved in the absence of land predators and did not develop the need to flee, they often fell victim to the sealer's clubs. In the early nineteenth century, Hawaiian monk seals, which were taken for their oil and pelts, suffered the same mass hunting as many of the other fur seals of the world. They were easy targets as they lay quietly basking on the beaches, and it wasn't long until sealers came in great numbers to the islands to get rich on this new source of quick profits. During this period, thousands of Hawaii's monk seals were slaughtered. Within only a few years, the population had been reduced so drastically that the seal grounds were deserted as the population was not large enough to make hunting the seals commercially worth while .

From the early 1900's until the beginning of World War II, the few monk seals that remained were given a respite from human activity as the United States Government declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a protected area- the Hawaiian Bird Reservation. During this time the monk seal population rebounded somewhat. However, military activity during World War II and afterwards disturbed the breeding grounds of the monk seals again, and the population began to decline steadily. Hawaiian monk seals are extremely sensitive to human activity. Mothers often abandon preferred pupping and haul out areas and even their pups prior to weaning, when disturbed by human visitors. Therefore, in order to help protect the species, it is important to enjoy monk seals from a distance, and give them the solitude they need to survive.