Saturday, May 22, 2010

Hawaiian Monk Seal


Looking like a dead log on the beach...



The Hawaiian Monk Seal loves to swim out of his watery habitat to sleep on the warm sand of a Hawaiian beach. Usually he is surrounded by stakes and ropes, but this one was all by himself on a lonely beach, unbothered by tourists and conservationists alike. His only signs of life were the short stiff breaths coming out of his sandy face. I felt an urge to stroke his smooth back - the bleached gray and algae colors - but I don't have thousands of dollars to pay in fines for touching his endangered skin. So I took his picture and let him dream the day dreams of a seal...


4 comments:

  1. oh yeah, he was fine. That is the face of one happy seal. I've had people ask me before if a monk seal is dead... but no, that is what they look like when they are peacefully sleeping!

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  2. oh wow...I had no clue they did that! You do live in a paradise over there Rose! Thank you so much for sharing through photos :)

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  3. You're welcome, Fabienne... Seals are common sights here, so it's easy to take them for granted without realizing that lots of people never get to see them.

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