Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Paper

The marine mammal that I selected is the Hawaiian Monk Seal. It’s Hawaiian name is ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua or na mea hulu (NOAA, n.d.). Also, the scientific name of the Hawaiian monk seal is Monachus schauinslandi (The Marine Mammal Center, n.d.). The Hawaiian monk seal is one of the most endangered marine mammal. Due to the fact that it’s endangered, they are now protected by the Marine mammal protection Act, the Endangered species Act, and also protected by Hawaii’s state law (The Marine Mammal Center, n.d.). The Hawaiian monk seal’s common habitat are in Hawaii. They also live in the Northwestern areas of the Hawaiian Islands. Monk seals live in warm subtropical waters. Monk seals are also found using deep water coral beds for foraging. They …show more content…
Most of the food Hawaiian monk seals consume are shallow coral reef fishes. These fishes make up 80% of their diet, cephalopods and crustaceans are the 20% of their diet that are consumed (Neubauer, n.d.). Hawaiian monk seals prey on about 40 species of marine animals that live in the coral reef. Most of the species are species of teleost fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods. In the food web, the main predator of the Hawaiian monk seals are tiger sharks. Sharks are the main threat on these seals, especially their pups. This is the reason why these seals choose to give birth and nest on the protected beaches (Neubauer, n.d.). Hawaiian monk seals mate underwater. The male are more dominated when it comes to breeding. They start biting the females that it could cause injury or sometimes death to the females. They give birth to a single pup each year in a given year. Most births happens in late March and early April. After nursing the pup, the mothers usually leaves the pup and go back to the ocean. There are other females that ends up fostering someones pup (The Marine Mammal Center, n.d.). Both male and female monk seals mature between the ages of 5 and 10. (Neubauer,