We Hardly Knew Ye: Caribbean Monk Seal Extinct

For the record, I reported this yesterday.
No flags were thrown, though!       ;}

the photo is very fitting. 

On a beach in Poipu, Kauai. The seal was resting peacefully, with a wide berth to do so. What you can't see are all of the people standing around the perimeter of the caution tape. It was quite a thing to see, this resting creature so oblivious to all the people gawking.

Sacha Adorno has contributed a photo to this story.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is endangered. We were blessed to see this young one basking on a beach on Kaui It was done with a point and click Olympus camera, so is not as good as recent photos, but captured the magical moment. Most people left it alone, a few got a little too close if you ask me to take a photo. By Hawaiian law we kept away from it by the 15 or 20 feet (can't remember the exact footage as it was such a long time ago) that the lifeguards told us was law.
gatespassbear has contributed a photo to this story.

This monk seal was spotted in Kauai. The monk seals as well as the Green Sea Turtle are protected there.

pagodagirl has contributed a photo to this story.

This is a monk seal sleeping on poipu beach, Kauai island, Hawaii, USA.

jinglesaint has contributed a photo to this story.

This is not a picture of the Caribbean Monk Seal but of the Hawaiian, which is also endangered.

dhbauer has contributed a photo to this story.

My friend and I were laying on the beach in Kauai when this guy decided to join us.

danamonkey has contributed a photo to this story.

On a family vacation to Kaua'i, I was walking along Poipu Beach with my dad when he noticed a Hawaiian Monk Seal just lying around sunning itself. It stayed in the same spot for the entire afternoon, only moving to get away from the inward moving tide. Around 5 or 6, it flopped around and swam away. People were taking pictures of it all day, but it didn't seem to mind the paparazzi at all. Some organization set up a little barrier around it so people wouldn't get too close, but as far as I could see, people gave it plenty of space.

thethirdeph has contributed a photo to this story.

These pics are not of the Caribbean Monk Seal, These are of the Hawaiian Monk Seal, an endangered species.

SoLostAndFound has contributed a photo to this story.

Hawaiian Monk Seal at Ka'ena Point Beach, O'ahu, Hawai'i.

LittleHapa has contributed a photo to this story.

We were lucky enough to see a Hawaiian Monk seal at the north end of Kaua'i. Lots of people taking pictures, but giving it a wide berth (and a few weirdo's lying on the sand doing an imitation of the seal for photos as well). They look dead when they are asleep. You have to watch for a while to see a fin or whisker twitch...

thievingjoker has contributed a photo to this story.

i went to hawaii for a week after a week in australia and three weeks in new zealand. half of my time in hawaii was spent up on the north shore of oahu. we stayed right near waimeia bay at the backpackers.

one day we were walking from our hostel up to banzai pipeline beach to see all the big wave surfing. along the way we saw this big rock up on the beach with caution tape all around it by about twenty feet.

as i got closer i realized it wasn't a rock at, but a monk seal.

i didn't realize how few of them there are in the world until later that day when sharing the story with a local that's lived there for 14 years and still hasn't seen one. so i guess we were really lucky that we got to witness such a spectacular creature.

veganstraightedge has contributed a photo to this story.

This Hawaiian monk seal was napping on Ke'e Beach in Kaua'i, March 2008. There was a rope barrier to keep the adoring public at a distance. (I had a telephoto lens.)

irmiller has contributed a photo to this story.

Aloha everyone,

I live in the town of Hau'ula, which is located on the Northeast side of O'ahu. Hawaiian Monk Seals are spotted fairly often on the beaches around here. They are usually seen loungin' in the sand, oblivious to the many tourists that pull over to snap photos. I have seen them between Kualoa Ranch all the way up to Turtle Bay in Kahuku... but mostly in Hau'ula, Punalu'u and Ka'a'awa. I have quite a few pix of Hawaiian monk seals on Flickr, so feel free to search my photostream for "monk seal".

I had an opportunity to meet someone famous because of a monk seal. One afternoon I was shooting pictures of a seal at Hau'ula Beach Park. There was another guy taking pictures who had a much, much larger and cooler camera than I had. I said to him that I was jealous of the SUPER-SWEET camera & telephoto lens that he was using. He looked up and said, "I can take a picture of the snot inside its nostrils with this lens." We both laughed and I said, "Aren't you Wyland?" To which he replied, "Yep, I live just down the road from here." I think he actually lives in Hale'iwa, which is about 15 minutes down the road, but still pretty close. I'm still kickin' myself for not taking HIS picture. Oh well, maybe next time.

S_w_i_d_e_r_s_k_i has contributed a photo to this story.

I’ve lived in Hawaii all my life and in all of those nearly 39 years I’ve seen a Monk Seal only 3 times. My first sighting remarkably enough took place on the Big Island of Hawaii at a place called South Point. Remarkable because not only were sightings in 1993 very rare, they were almost unheard of on islands south of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau. I didn’t have my camera then but I had it on this day. This seal was photographed on the east side of the island of O’ahu near Kualoa Beach Park. Taken with my 200 zoom lense so although I look “close” I was able to stay well away and not disturb it’s nap. I also called our local marine mammal hotline to report the sighting and took these photos with the intentionof submitting it to them for identification of the individual.

Ki'iGirl has contributed a photo to this story.

Photo was taken at Ka'ena Point Natural Area Reserve
on the island of Oahu in May 2008.

djmoore1657 has contributed a photo to this story.

This monk seal spent the day sunning himself on the lava rocks off Larson's Beach on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. We spent the entire afternoon with him. And he moved only occasionally to lift his head or to roll over.

somethingsinmypocket has contributed a photo to this story.

This Monk Seal was photographed in Hawaii. People were curious and had know idea that the seal needed to rest before returning to the water. Fortunately there were a few there to try and educate the public regarding the habits of the Monk Seal as well as bringing attention to the fact that they are endangered.

sgbaughn has contributed a photo to this story.

Monk seal getting its much needed rest on the Na Pali
Coast of Kauai in March 2008.

sallys aloha has contributed a photo to this story.

This is a Hawaiian monk seal spotted sleeping on the south shore of Kauai in March 2008.

PhotoSloth has contributed a photo to this story.

This is Chester, an adult male Hawaiian Monk Seal on Kaulia Beach on Oahu, Hawaii. Four months after he hauled out for this molt, he was found dead on Rabbit Island, apparently of natural causes.

scott mcnamara photography has contributed a photo to this story.

In Hawaii these animals are very well protected and generally roped off to the crowds of tourists that gather to see them.

I was jogging early one morning on Sunset Beach on Oahu and saw this seal napping. So I jogged back to my friends place on the point grabbed my camera and hustled back.

I arrived as the tide and surf splashed on the seal and woke it up and captured this.

more at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotodojo/sets

thetog has contributed a photo to this story.

This monk seal was sleeping on the beach on the island of Kauai, in Hawaii, when I was there in January 2008. This is the only time I have ever seen one in the wild. He looked very peaceful. They must stay in one place for a while. I did see him open his eyes once. Other than that he didn't move much in the hour or so that I was there, and the area around him had been roped off, to keep people away.

brianna7648 has contributed a photo to this story.

Photograph of a Monk Seal sunbathing on the west coast of Oahu, Hawaii. There are only about 1500 remaining.

Powerdinky has contributed a photo to this story.

Hawaiian monk seal taken at sunset on April 13, 2008, on Poi'pu Beach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Photo taken by Kauai resident Karen H. Tang

KarenBuzzy has contributed a photo to this story.

This is one of 3 photos taken. We are pleased to add this photo of rememberance to your collection.

belindah has contributed a photo to this story.

This guy was just taking a snooze on the beach when he was bombarded by dozens of tourists. Luckily, the Oahu Monk Seal Response Team set up a nice caution tape fence around him, so he wasn't disturbed by crazy mainlanders while he slept.

tayrae has contributed a photo to this story.