Hawaiian Monk Seal R307 @ Molokini Island Maui Hawaii Part 1

Video Taken in 2001 at Molokini Island Maui Hawaii. R307 is a male, also known affectionately as Humppy to the crews of Maui commercial vessels that have known him for many years.The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi, is an endangered earless seal that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Known to the native Hawaiians as ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or "dog that runs in rough water". The Hawaiian monk seal is named after Hugo Hermann Schauinsland, a German scientist who discovered the first skull on Laysan Island in 1899. Its common name comes from the short hairs on its head resembling a monk.Coincidentally, they also act like monks in that they are solitary animals. The Hawaiian monk seal is one of only 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. 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 the Hawaiian monk seal is not spending its time hunting and eating, it is generally hauling-out on the sandy beaches and volcanic rock of Northwest Hawaiian Islands.These monk seals are a conservation reliant endangered species. A small population of about 1,000 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; translocation, captive care, habitat clean up, and educating the public about the Hawaiian monk seal are some of the methods that can be employed.

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