Hawaiian+Monk+Seal

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Name: Hawaiian Monk Seal Scientific Name: Monachus schauinslandi Length: 7 feet (males) - 7.5 feet (females) Weight: 400 - 600 pounds Coloring: Dark Grey backs, and Silvery Grey undersides. Lifespan: Up to 30 years. Diet: fish, octopus, squid, lobster Mating Season: between December and mid-August Gestation: About 1 year Litter Size: 1 pup Range: Only the Centeral Pacific, primarily northwestern Hawaii Behavior: They are not specially equipted for the warm climate which they live in so they remain inactive when it is hot. They are typically solitary animals. Habitat: Reefs, Shallow Lagoons, Open Ocean, and Beaches Current Population: About 1200 Threats: Human Encroachment, Shark Predation, Entanglement in Fishing Nets.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits, with certain exceptions, the killing or harassment of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It also prohibits the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S. In 1976, the Hawaiian monk seal was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. They are also listed as endangered in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species. Hawaiian monk seals are also listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Between 1958 and 1996, mean beach counts of the main reproductive populations declined by 60%. Current population estimates range from 1300-1400 animals and the population continues to decline; from 1985 to 1996 the rate of decline was about 4% per year. While different island subpopulations exist, they are all managed as a single stock by the US National Marine Fisheries Service. [|The Marine Mammal Center]