On each of our previous vacations the most requested thing to do for the next vacation is more beach time. So, the next time we schedule more beach time and they still don’t get their fill of the ocean and sand. So, this vacation we are planted in one spot for almost 2 weeks. They will get beach time EVERY SINGLE DAY, if they want it.

On our first day here, we were swimming around out in the water which is a very pleasant temperature high 70s to low 80s from what I’m told. At one point we heard the life guard blowing his whistle. We looked around and didn’t see anything wrong, but then we noticed this Hawaiian Monk Seal up on the shore. We completely missed the haul out since we didn’t realize what was going on when the life guard blew the whistle. Next time we’ll know to look right away and will hopefully not miss the haul out or in.

We have learned a LOT about swimming creatures this year thanks to our co-op science class studying the Apologia Exploring Creation: Zoology 2 book which is all about the swimming creatures of the the 5th day.

We knew enough about pinnipeds (latin for fin footed) from our study this year to know that what we were looking at had to be from the Phocidae family because it lacked the one thing that distingushes a seal from a sea lion or fur seal and that is an external ear flap. We weren’t close enough to actually see the ear hole, but we could tell that it didn’t have an ear flap. We also knew it had to be a seal because of the structure of the front flippers. I hope we get to see a haul out on another visit so we can see how it inches along.

Beyond recognizing that this was a true seal, we weren’t sure what exactly it was so we had to do an internet search when we got back to the condo. We found out it is an Hawaiian Monk Seal which is among the most endangered creatures on earth. It is the most endangered pinniped in US waters (second in the world).

We also found out that the Hawaiian archipelago is the primary terrestrial habitat of the Hawaiian Monk Seal with approximately 25 seals calling the waters and beaches of Kaua`i home. They are one of only two mammals endemic to Hawaii the second being a species of bat which we hope to not see any of on this trip (LOL)!

They weigh between 400 and 600 pounds and they measure 6-8 feet long. We were worried that it was dead, but found out later that we weren’t the only ones wondering that since it is the most frequently asked question. Here is what the Kaurai Monk Seal website says:

Q. The seal looks dead. Is it ? Or is it sick or injured?

A. No — to all of the above. Hawaiian Monk Seals (HMS) frequently haul out on the beach to bask, or rest. They haul out most frequently in the early morning hours and remain throughout the day, usually reentering the ocean around sunset. These rest periods are vital to the HMS. They need to regain strength for feeding and defending themselves from predators. This is why you should never approach or disturb seals on the beach. Injured seals will usually exhibit a visible wound and sick seals may appear behaviorally different, and possibly agitated. Molting seals may seem agitated as well, but this is normal annual behavior.

Now that we know they frequent a certain section of Poipu Beach, we’ll have to check back there several more times on this trip to see what we find.

We also saw a turtle trying to come ashore, but too many people flocked to the edge of the water and scared it off. The life guard was blowing his whistle for the people to move and let it come ashore, but it wasn’t soon enough. I watched it try to come ashore 2x before it finally swam back out into the water not very far from where Josh and Nathan were swimming. Here is a couple of pictures I got of it even though they aren’t very good.