THE ENDANGERED MONK SEAL
Fight for survival
Hawaii’s endemic oceangoing mammals are being killed, and humans are to blame
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 15, 2012
Kyle Nakagawa was reeling in an akule off the coast of Kauai when a critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal rose out of the sea and bit off the catch, leaving only the decapitated head of the fish dangling from a hook.
In the course of a single boat trip outside of Port Allen, the monk seal — or its buddies — snared six more akule from Nakagawa’s line in identical fashion, winning Nakagawa’s respect for their ability to adapt to humans.
Kyle Nakagawa was reeling in an akule off the coast of Kauai when a critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal rose out of the sea and bit off the catch, leaving only the decapitated head of the fish dangling from a hook.
In the course of a single boat trip outside of Port Allen, the monk seal — or its buddies — snared six more akule from Nakagawa’s line in identical fashion, winning Nakagawa’s respect for their ability to adapt to humans. Read more at Star Advertiser
LIVING FOSSIL: THE HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL
One isle home to another
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 15, 2012
They’re known as Hawaiian monk seals, and they exist only in the Hawaiian archipelago but, like all plants and animals in Hawaii, monk seals had to come from somewhere else.
The current theory is that the ancient ancestors of today’s Hawaiian monk seals began exploring from their original home in the Caribbean 3 million years ago through what is now Central America during a time of global climate change, said Charles Littnan, program leader for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hawaiian monk seals research.
They’re known as Hawaiian monk seals, and they exist only in the Hawaiian archipelago but, like all plants and animals in Hawaii, monk seals had to come from somewhere else.
The current theory is that the ancient ancestors of today’s Hawaiian monk seals began exploring from their original home in the Caribbean 3 million years ago through what is now Central America during a time of global climate change, said Charles Littnan, program leader for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hawaiian monk seals research. Read more at Star Advertiser
