Hawaiian+Monk+Seal

Hawaiian Monk Seal By Cameron Pmedia type="custom" key="3680181"

The Hawaiian Monk Seal is considerd the most endangered seal in the U.S. waters, with are only 1,200 left. The most endangered seal in the world is another species of monk seal, the Mediterranean monk seal, of which there are only about 600 seals left in the Mediterranean. The Caribbean monk seal, a third species, of monk seal, is now extinct. Hawaiian monk seals are found in the northwest part of the Hawaiian Islands. They spend a lot of time at sea sometimes as long as a month. They are able to dive 600 feet deep, and can stay under water for up to 20 minutes. They eat fish, octopus, eels, and lobsters. Adults have gray to brownish fur, they grow up to seven feet long, and weigh between 400 and 600 pounds. They can live as long as 30 years. These seals are born on land. Every year, usually in May or June, females find sandy beaches and give birth to a single pup. Sharks are natural predators to the monk seals. The female seals avoid beaches where the water becomes deep very quickly because this lets sharks swim close to land and catch the seals. Mothers take care of their pups for six weeks. During that entire time, they do not leave the beach, not even to eat. Instead, they live off of fat that they have stored up over the previous years and feed to their pups with a fat rich milk.