November - Hawaiian Monk Seal!

Hawaiian Monk Seal acrylic painting by artist Amber Marine, © 2015, all rights reserved

The Hawaiian Monk Seal, Ilio Holo I Ka UaUa! ("dog that runs in rough water.")

This is a small (8x8) acrylic on canvas, and my first ever painting of a pinniped! Our critically endangered seal friend is accompanied by Hawaii's state fish Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, (reef triggerfish, "fish who comes out of the water and sounds like a pig") and two small yellow lauwiliwilinukunukuʻoiʻoi! (reef butterfly fish, "long-snouted fish shaped like a wiliwili leaf.”)

Monk seals are the only type of seal native to tropical waters, and our featured seal is one of two remaining types of monk seal that survive today, alongside the Mediterranean monk seal which is also critically endangered. There was a monk seal native to the Caribbean but it is extinct, the last one was spotted in 1952.

There are people working hard to save the Hawaiian monk seal. This is a wonderful thing because these seals are listed as a conservation reliant endangered species by the Endangered Species Act, meaning that the 1,100 individuals that remain in the wild today are entirely reliant on human intervention if they are to survive.

To learn more about this animal and how to help them, or to make a donation, visit theKe Kai Ola Hawaiian Monk Seal Hospital website!