People Are Sharing Their Cute Encounters With a Hawaiian Monk Seal

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Pie
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The Hawaiian monk seal is an endangered species of earless seal that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

These animals prefer warm subtropical waters and they move to land to breed and haul-out on the sand, volcanic rock, and corals. They eat fish, crustaceans, eels, and cephalopods, and other benthic organisms. They are rendered as extinct by large-scale hunting in the 19th century, and they are still considered as endangered up to this day.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the population of these monk seals have slightly increased from previous years. Though the increase is minimal, this is already a great achievement for a species with a small population.

So this means that we can see more of these mammals in years to come. People are sharing their amazing encounter and their photos proved the Hawaiian monk seal is one of the most adorable mammals you’ll see today.

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The Hawaiian Monk Seal is one of the most endangered marine mammals in the world. They are mainly threatened by entanglement in fishing gear, food availability, disease and predation, and although many protections are in place their numbers have continued to fall. They are struggling with marine debris: the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands act like a net in the North Pacific, ensnaring large amounts of drifting fishing gear and debris on its fringing reefs and sandy shores. The daily accumulation of large amounts of debris—almost entirely plastics— on Midway’s shores bothers them as they haul out on its beaches and forage in the atoll’s shallow waters. With only about 1,400 remaining, it’s more important than ever to keep their habitat healthy and trash-free!

A post shared by Jennifer Leigh Warner (@experiencewildlife) on