Huntin for Seals

Jesse here: Last Saturday I walked from Kahuku to Turtle Bay on the beach by myself searching for Hawaiian Monk Seals. They are one of the most endangered seals on the planet. Since they are so rare, I wasn't counting on seeing any but came prepared with walkie-talkies, binoculars and and camera. The coast is very raw and undeveloped. It is a great place to be alone with nature. Here is a map of the whole coast that I walked. It is a little more than 5 miles long on rock and sand.

I found this huge tree. I have no idea how a tree this large showed up here.

This picture is of a nearby bay.

This fish and I had a staring contest for over 5 minutes before I gave up and let him win. He was sharing a very small tide pool with a little crab that you can barely see towards the left of the picture. I never knew that fish and crabs could be friends.

At the very end of my journey I happened to stumble upon this girl pictured below. I felt so lucky to see her playing in the water and moving around. The Hawaiians call the seals Ilioholo'ikauaua which means "dog that runs through rough waters." The seal that I found acted so much like a dog. She was scratching her head, rolling over and barking.

This one is particular did not have any tags or human markings on it so it was a really big deal to everybody. It was a previously undiscovered seal! I feel so privileged to be able to help protect these magnificent creatures.