The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is a critically endangered species of ear less seal in the Phocidae family that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian monk seal is one of two remaining monk seal species; the other is the Mediterranean monk seal. A third species, the Caribbean monk seal, is extinct.
The Hawaiian monk seal is the only seal native to Hawaii. Known to native Hawaiians as Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or "dog that runs in rough water". The Hawaiian monk seals are adopted to be Hawaii's state mammal.
These monk seals are a conservation reliant endangered species. The small population of about 1,100 individuals is threatened by human encroachment, very low levels of genetic variation, entanglement in fishing nets, marine debris, disease, and past commercial hunting for skins. There are many methods of conservation biology when it comes to endangered species; trans-location, captive care, habitat cleanup, and educating the public about the Hawaiian monk seal are some of the methods that can be employed.
Its grey coat, white belly, and slender physique distinguish them from their cousin, the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). The monk seal’s physique is ideal for hunting its prey: fish, lobster, octopus and squid in deep water coral beds. When it is not hunting and eating, it generally basks on the sandy beaches and volcanic rock of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.
The Hawaiian monk seal is part of the Phocidae family, being named so for its characteristic lack of external ears and inability to rotate its hind flippers under the body. The Hawaiian monk seal has a relatively small, flat head with large black eyes, eight pairs of teeth, and short snouts with the nostril on top of the snout and vibrissae on each side. The nostrils are small vertical slits which close when the seal dives underwater. Additionally, their slender, torpedo-shaped body and hind flippers allow them to be very agile swimmers. The majority of the Hawaiian monk seal population can be found around the Northwest Hawaiian Islands but a small and growing population lives around the main Hawaiian Islands. These seals spend two-thirds of their time at sea.
Hawaiian monk seals mainly prey on bony fish, but they also prey on cephalopods, and crustaceans. Both juveniles and sub-adults prey more on smaller octopus species, such as Octopus leteus and O. hawaiiensis, nocturnal octopi species, and eels than the adult Hawaiian monk seals. While adult seals feed mostly on larger octopi species such as O. cyanea. Hawaiian monk seals have a broad and diverse diet due to foraging plasticity which allows them to be opportunistic predators that feed on a wide variety of available prey.
