#Hawaiian monk seal

Hawaiʻi Marine Animal Response, the largest Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit dedicated to marine species conservation and field response, announced the launch of its Hawaiʻi Marine Stewards Program, an education partnership designed to equip the state’s hospitality and tourism industry in the protection of marine animals.

Following a disturbing incident involving an alleged attack on a Hawaiian monk seal in Lahaina, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, called on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to step up efforts to better educate the public on the need to protect Hawaiian monk seals, one of the most endangered seal species in the world.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources is investigating social media postings on Instagram that appear to show an adult male throwing an object toward a monk seal while it was swimming in the water off the Lahaina shoreline.

A Hawaiian monk seal pup was born at sunset, Sunday, May 3, on Kaimana Beach, to the 15-year-old female Kaiwi (RK96), who is known to visit Oʻahu’s south shore.

Hawaiʻi Marine Animal Response, the largest Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit dedicated to marine species conservation and field response, is marking its 10th anniversary in 2026. The milestone honors a decade of frontline work protecting endangered Hawaiian monk seals, vulnerable sea turtles, and at-risk seabirds — species whose survival is increasingly shaped by human impact.

Hawaiian monk seal peak pupping season is underway across the islands, a critical time for one of the state’s most endangered species. Monk seals give birth year-round, but the months from March through August are the busiest for births.

A new study released in Conservation Biology Wednesday and co-authored by scientists at Ocean Conservancy, Arizona State University and Shaw Institute is the first to rank marine mammals based on their vulnerability to plastic larger than roughly the size of a pencil eraser.

On Monday, a monk seal was observed moving quickly up a crowded beach along Maui’s North Shore, where it settled about 20 feet from beachgoers.

The Marine Institute at Maui Ocean Center is partnering with the NOAA to strengthen efforts to protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals on Maui.

The recent death of RS34, a two-year-old female Hawaiian monk seal known as Moana, was the result of paddle-out or drone-out fishing using a “jug rig” variant, according to wildlife officials. 

RU28 and RU99—are now receiving life-saving care at The Marine Mammal Center’s Hawaiian monk seal hospital, Ke Kai Ola, in Kona, on Hawaiʻi Island.

An incident on Saturday saw yet another off-leash dog run straight at a resting Hawaiian monk seal on O’ahu’s North Shore.

Thirty-four Hawaiian monk seal pups were born in the main Hawaiian Islands in 2024, and three pups have already been born this year. Officials say the public should give mothers with pups at least 150 feet of space on land and in the water—moms can be protective if they think you’re too close.

Human interactions with a recently entangled monk seal pup on Hawaiʻi Island has prompted outreach to fishers and boaters. The five-month-old female Hawaiian monk seal, named Keaka (tag number T64/T65), has been a frequent visitor to Honokōhau Small Boat Harbor in recent days.

Hawaiian monk seal RS52, a juvenile male born on Lanaʻi, was transported from Maui to Hawaiʻi Island for emergency care on Oct. 17. The rescue mission was launched following reports that the animal had lost significant weight and had become progressively less energetic in recent weeks.

The current closure of the shoreline of Mokulua Nui, the larger of the two Mokulua offshore islets on the windward side of Oʻahu, will end on Oct. 7, 2024. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife closed public access to the islet on July 13 to facilitate the safe birth and growth of a Hawaiian monk seal.

The three seals, DT12, a female pup and oldest of the group, DT48, a female pup, and DT46, a male pup, all likely weaned early at a small size, according to a press release from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

A Hawaiian monk seal born on Mokulua Nui in in 2018 has delivered her first pup on the same islet. The birth of this pup to Wailea (RJ30), was confirmed on Friday, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The twin Mokulua offshore islets are state wildlife sanctuaries.

Hawaiian monk seal Rocky (RH58) gave birth to a pup overnight Thursday, and the two were observed resting on a beach in the morning at the Sand Island State Recreation Area of O‘ahu.

NOAA Fisheries and partners have relocated the female Hawaiian monk seal pup Paʻaki from busy Kaimana Beach, Waikīkī, to a more remote Oʻahu shoreline, the agency announced on Thursday.