Training Toby: Monday -No Mischief- Monk Seals

Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday -No Mischief- Monk Seals

Rare Hawaiian Monk Seal - Tunnels Beach, Kawai

Now that I've recovered from the flight home from the beautiful island of Kauai, I've begun the arduous task of editing the hundreds of photos we took there. I also wanted to get back in the swing of blogging after a long absence (thanks to all of you who visited, especially if you checked out the Golden Retriever rescue site).

Well, I just couldn't resist the M alliterations today...Monday...Mischief...Monk... especially while looking at these adorably snoozing seals. There are only about 900 monk seals left in the world and they are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. We were fortunate enough to see two of them sleeping off their meals during our 10 days on Kauai. Notice the white sign behind the seal pictured above. The seal has been surrounded by these signs warning passersby to keep their distance. (Thank goodness for the zoom feature on our little camera!) Most, but not all, people were happy to comply. A few saw the signs but walked next to the seal anyway. Mischief indeed! Too bad a wildlife officer wasn't around to ticket them.

The tide is getting his flippers wet!

This seal was so cute when the waves began to reach halfway up his body. He rolled over, pumped on his belly about 6 feet higher up the beach, and went right back to sleep. Except for scratching his nose twice, he didn't move anymore.

Monk seal on Donkey Beach, seen from cliff above.

No warning signs needed on this isolated beach.

Sleeping Beauty.
Ted hiked down the cliff and used the zoom to get this shot from about 100 feet.

Some editing makes it look even a little closer. Wonder if monk seals dream and if so, what about?

8 comments :

Lapdog Creations said...: Cool pics!; July 30, 2012 at 4:46 PM
Donna and the Dogs said...: How cool that you got to see a Monk seal on your journey! That fellow looks quite relaxed, lying there catching some rays.; July 30, 2012 at 7:09 PM
snoopy@snoopysdogblog said...: Awesome pics, so happy you had a zoom and you could share them with us :)

Wags to all

Your pal Snoopy :); July 31, 2012 at 12:06 AM
Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...: you went to our favorite Island! I had left a comment for you before telling you that we had honeymooned in Kauai in 2006 (we are OLD, not young lol)....it is my absolute FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH!; July 31, 2012 at 12:23 PM
tubby3pug said...: What a treat to see such an amazing animal in its natural habitat. If I had seen people getting too close to the seal I would have really lost my temper! How awful not to respect the animals best interests

urban hounds; July 31, 2012 at 8:01 PM
Unknown said...: I finally figured out how to reply to comments!!! We loved Kauai and met a lot of newlyweds while there. It was so beautiful and all of the residents we met were so committed to protecting the natural beauty and keep the island undeveloped. So friendly - lots of aloha there :); August 2, 2012 at 8:16 AM
Unknown said...: Yes, my husband and I asked a few of them to be more considerate...actually after about an hour we left that beach because it was making me so uncomfortable...really do wish there had been someone in authority to educate (not actually ticket) people.; August 2, 2012 at 8:18 AM
Val said...: HI, Found your beautiful blog via the Blog Hop...what a fun surprise to see the photos of the Monk seal. I lived on Molokai for 2.5 years and was very involved with the protection of these wonderful animals. I was even involved with the famous seal KP2, a seal born on Kauai and abandoned by his mom at day #1. There is a wonderful book about him called The Odyssey of Kp2 that you might enjoy. If you get a chance stop by my blog, I have a few posts about the seals and of course my girlz!! Have a great day and I'll be back.; August 9, 2012 at 11:07 AM