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Don’t Mess With Sheriff Button Hawaiian Shirt
Robert A. Morris1, MS, DVM; William G. Gilmartin2; Marlee Breese3
1Makai Animal Clinic, Kailua, HI; 2Honolulu Laboratory, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Honolulu, HI; 3Sea Life Par, Waimanalo, HI
The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is one of three species of tropical seals in the world. The Caribbean monk seal (M. Tropicalls) is thought to be extinct. The Mediterranean monk seal (M. Monachus) is endangered with a population estimate of fewer than 500. The Hawaiian monk seal is endangered with a current population of approximately 1500 animals. Most of the Hawaiian seals reside on remote coral-sand atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), an area extending approximately 1000 miles from end to end.
The decline of the Hawaiian monk seals started in the 1800s when many were hunted for skins and oil. One account in 1859 recorded a ship with possibly 1500 seal skins aboard. The killing of seals extended into the 1900s when the fur and feather trade was flourishing.
The NWHI, to Midway, were designated a part of the National Wildlife Refuge System in 1940. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administer the refuge. Kure Atoll, lying beyond Midway, is a State of Hawaii seabird sanctuary. These protective designations restricted access to the islands except for military and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) activities at Kure Atoll, Midway Islands, and French Frigate Shoals (East and Tern Islands).
The recent decline of the Hawaiian monk seal (beach counts down 50% since the late 1950s) may be attributed to multiple factors, but humans by far are the main cause. Beach activities directly and indirectly of human origin (beach walking, dogs, vehicles on beaches, etc.) tend to keep mother seals and pups in the water, thereby exposing them to shark predation. Pregnant seals and those with pups are forced to reside on smaller, less-protected sand islands, thereby exposing them to weather elements as well as predators. The main predator of the monk seal is the tiger shark.
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