seal.watch / hawaii

Hawaiʻi · 2001—2026

Hawaiian monk seal

Seals around Hawaiʻi.

Follow public seal observations from Hawaiʻi. Browse published records, explore the places and stories behind them, or share an encounter with the Seal Watch team.

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Total reports
93
Latest observation

Public reports · newest first

Public records archive

3 May—29 May

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4 of 93 reports

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Explore Hawaiʻi sightings

Island markers filter reports. Place markers show named shores or offshore islands from published records, never exact animal positions. Counts are reports, not seals.

4 of 4 reports name a mapped island · 2 have a named shore or island reference

Main Hawaiian Islands same scale

N ↑Kauaʻi: 2 reports, filter this area1Oʻahu: 1 report, filter this area2Maui: 1 report, filter this area3Lahaina shoreline2

Kauaʻi coast enlarged

Oʻahu coast enlarged

Kaimana Beach: 1 report; named place reference, not an observation coordinate1

Reported islands west to east

  1. Kauaʻi2 reports
  2. Oʻahu1 report
  3. Maui1 report

Named shores and islands

  1. Kaimana Beach1 report
  2. Lahaina shoreline1 report

Outline: Natural Earth. Place references: USGS, State of Hawaiʻi, NOAA and University of Hawaiʻi.

Reports over time

All dates

Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.

  1. 12001
  2. 12002
  3. 22005
  4. 32007
  5. 12008
  6. 32009
  7. 12010
  8. 32011
  9. 22012
  10. 22013
  11. 52014
  12. 32015
  13. 12016
  14. 32017
  15. 32018
  16. 72019
  17. 32020
  18. 32021
  19. 32022
  20. 32023
  21. 32024
  22. 32025
  23. 342026

Months in 2026

  1. 5Jan
  2. 4Feb
  3. 4Mar
  4. 2Apr
  5. 4May
  6. 2Jun
  7. 2Jul
  8. 6Aug
  9. 5Sep
  10. 0Oct
  11. 0Nov
  12. 0Dec

Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.

  1. 2026
    East Kauaʻi coast Kauaʻi
    R1NP Kauaʻi HMS Conservation Hui

    A yearling male seen regularly between Waipouli and Lydgate was flipper-tagged as R1NP. The team described him as small but strong and healthy. Hawaiian monk seal · 1 seal

  2. 2026
    Kauaʻi shoreline (beach not named) Kauaʻi
    RL28 and pup PK1 (later RV28) Kauaʻi HMS Conservation Hui

    RL28 gave birth to her first pup, a male initially called PK1. The monitoring team later assigned the pup the permanent ID RV28. Hawaiian monk seal · 2 seals

  3. 2026
    Lahaina shoreline Maui
    R404 Hawaiʻi Public Radio / Associated Press

    A Hawaiian monk seal was filmed swimming in shallow water during a reported rock-throwing incident. AP later reported NOAA's identification of the seal as adult male R404. Hawaiian monk seal · 1 seal

  4. 2026
    Kaimana Beach, Waikīkī Oʻahu
    RK96 (Kaiwi) and pup Hawaiʻi DLNR / HMAR

    Kaiwi gave birth to a pup at sunset on May 3. The state announcement identifies the mother as RK96. Hawaiian monk seal · 2 seals