The Hawaiian Monk Seal is extremely endangered… only 1100 left in existence. When they come up on the beach its recommended people stay at least 100 ft. away. For all purposes the “line” we posted around him was maybe 30 ft.

Some people felt walking that extra 30′ around was an inconvenience and would cross the line. Folks who walk their dogs off leash and there is a leash law… would yell at me for asking them to leash the dog. There were several evenings in the dark of the night people come into the barrier and try to get him to move, or to get up close to take a photo. Parents not keeping an eye on the kids or trying to get too close for a photo op.

The lack of understanding this is a wild animal weighing in at 400+ pounds seem to escape them.

There really was never any physical threat to the animal…. for which I am grateful. I think what surprised me was some people (not a lot, but enough) saw him as an intrusion to their daily routine. I saw it as a gift a wonderful opportunity to experience him in his natural habitat. We are the intrusion.

The other side of this story is…. there were some wonderful friendships made. A group of volunteers, that never met prior to his arrival and knew nothing about Hawaiian Monks Seals learned very quickly and organized so he had 7×24 coverage. A community came together to keep him safe. I am mostly grateful for all the good that came from this and I think there will be more done for them in the near future.

Thank you, D. What a wonderful opportunity to see up-close something that isn’t often seen, and I would have felt exactly as you did. As for those who saw him as an intrusion, I’ve never understood people like that, but always find them rankling. – JD

Dee, thanks for your post and taking up for the posters here, who with one recent exception are intelligent, well-spoken people. So, I’m curious. What was the bad behavior people exhibited towards seeing the monk seal?

I had the good fortune to look over a Hawaiian Monk Seal for 26 days in January. He landed himself on a beach in a very residential area. What I found most interesting is this animal basically laid on the beach sleeping while he molted his skin, basically peaceful and unaware. Just his presence brought out a multitude of behaviors, the best and worse in people. Had I known I would have kept a journal especially as days grew into weeks. Everyone wants a sense of ownership… their experience, what happened when they were there and how they were affected by him, everything from being inspired to annoyed.

In the end, the seal returned to deeper waters with his new fur coat and we the volunteers are trying to catch up with our lives. And if I had to do it again I would choose to spend the time with the seal.

** RE: Camille – Sorry you are so angry. If you don’t like Jane then there should be no reason to come here. Many of us like it here and those that don’t always agree are able to disagree respectably. I would think twice the next time you speak about someone not having any class.

Thank you too for the pic. I love your expression, which is also a mix of things. Sad, happy, and wistful.

We have a family cabin on Lake Superior, but in Michigan. Usually we take turns using it and I almost always go by myself. The silence is healing.