QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

I live in the northwest Hawaiian Islands. These islands are to the north and the west of the main Hawaiian islands. I like to hang out by myself, like a monk.

Where do I live?

There are less than 1,300 of me left. There are more of me in the small islands to the north and west of the main eight Hawaiian islands than in the main Hawaiian islands.

There are fewer and fewer of me each year.

How many of me are there?

I am a silvery grey colored with a cream color throat. As I gets older, I get yellow below and brown on top. As we get older still, we turn almost black. This camoflages me from sharks. It is called counter shading and is a defense mechanism.

How can someone identify me?

What do I eat?

I eat a variety of prey including fish, squid and lobster. I go hunting at night. I am known to hunt deeper than 1,000 feet and look in the benthos for food, like my cousin the bearded seal.

How often do I reproduce and How do I raise my young?

I only have one baby and don’t reproduce every year. I can reproduce after the age of 9.My pup is about 3 feet long, jet black, and weighs 30-35 pounds. It nurses for 6 weeks. I don’t eat that whole time.

I live for 25 to 30 years. I am afraid of tiger sharks, aggressive males, which eat babies and females, and marine debris which I get tangled in and can swallow and make me sick.

I am not afraid of polar bears.

How long do I live? What should

I be afraid of?

During the 1800’s, I was hunted for meat and fur. Humans thought they killed us all, but I survived. Today I am one of the world’s most endangered animals.

Do YOU think I am important?

What will happen if there are no more Hawaiian Monk Seals?

Why am I important to you?

Scientists say there might be fewer beaches because of ocean level rising. Global climate change affects Hawaiian Monk Seals because the seals use the beaches for mating, raising young, and most importantly, resting.

How does global climate change effect me?

References and ResourcesSlide 2: Map from NWHI for Teachers,http://www.hawaiianatolls.org/teachers/NavChange.php, 11/02/10Slide 3: Seal Facts, www.mcbi.org/what/what_pdfs/sealFacts.pdf, 11/02/10Slide 4, The Encyclopedia of Earth, eoearth.org/article/hawaiian_monk_seal, 10/18/10Slide 5, Hawaiian Monk Sea,http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/pinnipeds/hawaiianmonkseal.htm, 11/02/10Slide 6: Directory of Kauai, net/blog/hawaiian-monk-seal-breeding, 10/18/10Slide 7: Hawaiian Monk Seals, http://www.animalinfo.org/species/carnivor/monascha.htm, 10/18/10Shark picture: wendmag,http://marinesciencetoday.com/2009/08/28/latest-coastal-shark-survey-completed/, 10/18/10Slide 8:Hawaiian Monk Seals, http://www.mcbi.org/what/monk_seals.html11/02,10Slide 9:Hawaiian Monk Seal information factswww.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/Hawaiian_monk_seal.php10/18/10