Your help is vital to ensure their survival. Please read and print the following guidelines for observing seals.

ALWAYS stay well behind barricades or signs placed by hotel workers around a basking seal, and at least 50 yards (150 feet or 45m) from seals in unmarked areas.

REMEMBER to maintain a much greater distance from a mother and pup, or any seal that appears disturbed or agitated.

ALWAYS pass outside barricades, or above an unbarricaded seal, not between the seal and the shoreline.

REMEMBER that you should never approach or attempt to feed a seal – on the beach, while swimming, or from a boat.

Monk Seal sunning on the beach. 

ALWAYS view quietly. Do not throw sand, stones, objects, or make noise to induce movement and create photo ops.

REMEMBER all marine wildlife. Seals, sea turtles, dolphins, and humpback whales require distance, quiet, and respect for proper viewing.

ALWAYS photograph seals from the proper distance and never use flash photography in their presence.

REMEMBER children. Advise them of proper behavior. An agitated 400 to 600 pound animal could bite or cause other serious injury.

ALWAYS report any seal harassment – at the beach, in the water, or from a boat operator – to local Police Dispatch at 241-6711 or the Kaua`i Marine Conservation Coordinator at 651-7668.

REMEMBER state and federal laws. Harassment or disturbance of a Hawaiian Monk Seal can incur fines exceeding $25,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment.

Enjoy these natural treasures of Kaua`i. Your respect for their well-being and survival will ensure their presence during your next visit and for generations to come. Mahalo, Kaua`i Monk Seal Watch Program.

MAHALO TO SOS MONK SEAL VOLUNTEER JULIE HONNERT!  Julie visits Kauai from OHIO to spread awareness about seal and assist with ongoing projects!  Julie donated these great shots!

Aloha!

    My name is Julie and I am back in Ohio after a great trip to Kauai where I got to spend two weeks helping out the ‘Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui’ with monitoring and documenting  the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. This is my second trip and the more I am there, the more I realize how much more there is to learn!

   During my 2006 trip, I would encounter one seal at a time, usually molting, and sleeping quietly on the beach. Not this time!! Poipu Beach was a flurry of activity, here in May of 2007, with as many as 6 seals at a time! And, trust me, they were not sleeping. They were doing a lot of interacting on the beach and in the water. Swimming together and playing, sometimes 3 at a time!  No one is sure why so many seals were arriving there, and it was not always the same ones each day.

   It was difficult for me and other volunteers to keep up with the seals as they would move from one place to another. Moving the seal barriers became kind of a game…waiting to see where the seals would haul out and then having to take barriers back down 15 minutes later when they moved back into the water, only to have them come out again farther down the beach…Whew! A lot of visitors had to quickly move their belongings when a seal took a liking to their section of beach. Thank goodness most folks were very cooperative.

  I did manage to get to some other seal locations during my stay, but one of my favorite experiences was not something most people might enjoy. I have read a lot about seal research and was aware that by DNA testing seal feces, researches can tell a lot about where they feed, and how healthy the seals are. So, I was delighted to see a seal leaving a sample on the beach in front of the Beach House Restaurant. After the seal moved far enough away, I used an inverted plastic bag to collect the sample. It was a very generous seal, and an extremely odiferous sample! I was happy knowing that it is even more helpful to researchers to know that the sample came from a certain seal and was not just collected at random. I received high praise for my efforts as there had been several requests for samples recently, and apparently not too many volunteers like to volunteer for this. Imagine that!

 My first day on Kauai was the day of the first seal count, so I was also able to participate in that with a wonderful volunteer from the east shore. It would take many pages to tell of all of my adventures, so I will stop here and just let you enjoy some of my seal photos from my trip. Most of the pictures are from Poipu Beach as that is where all the action was. You can see the close proximity to visitors which can prove dangerous. Seals tend to bury their faces in the sand a lot which is very cute. There is a photo of a seal leaving the water and if you look closely, you will see scars on the face, shoulder, and back. These kinds of scars are used to identify the seals which have no tags. There is also a picture of ‘yours truly’ having a great day at Poipu. Mahalo to all of my fellow volunteers for making my trip a cherished memory, and I will return just as soon as possible!