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| Rare Hawaiian Monk Seal - Tunnels Beach, Kawai |
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.
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| The tide is getting his flippers wet! |
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| Monk seal on Donkey Beach, seen from cliff above. |
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| Sleeping Beauty. Ted hiked down the cliff and used the zoom to get this shot from about 100 feet. |
8 comments :
Cool pics!
How cool that you got to see a Monk seal on your journey! That fellow looks quite relaxed, lying there catching some rays.
Awesome pics, so happy you had a zoom and you could share them with us :)
Wags to all
Your pal Snoopy :)
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!
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
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 :)
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.
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.
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