The Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) lives in the warm waters of the North-western part of the Hawaiian islands. It has gotten its name, because its head with the small hairs looks like the head of a typical monk. Also, the Hawaiian Monk Seal leads a more solitary life (like monks) when compared to other seals. They can stay under water for as long as 20 minutes without coming to the surface and to a depth of 600 feet. The Hawaiian Monk Seal is one of the most endangered species of seals. Together with the Mediterranean Monk Seal they struggle for survival to prevent extinction like the Caribbean Monk Seal, which became extinct in the 1950s. In 2004 the estimate of the total population of Hawaiian monk seals was 1400 animals. The reasons for their decline are: increased human presence, sharks, Ciguatera poisoning (a bacteria) and fishing nets.
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The Hawaiian monk seal is listed as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Namings for the Hawaiian monk seal
A young / baby of a Hawaiian monk seal is called a 'pup'. The females are called 'cow' and males 'bull'. A Hawaiian monk seal group is called a 'pod, colony, crash, flock, harem, bob, herd, rookery, team or hurd'.Countries
United StatesHawaiian monk seal habitats
Estuaries, Marine Intertidal, Marine Neritic, Rocky Shoreline, Sandy Shoreline and / or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits and EtcSome facts about the
Hawaiian monk seal
Adult weight : 222.5 kg (489.5 lbs)
Female maturity :1825 days
Gestation : 335 days
Weaning : 35 days
Litter size : 1
Litters per year : 1
Interval between litters : 465 days
Weight at birth : 17 kg (37.4 lbs)
Weight at weaning : 64 kg (140.8 lbs)
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