This was a seriously inquisitive monk seal, came right up to our kayaks, just stuck the camera in the water to get the photos, thanks Peter for the picture of me. Olowalu, Maui.

As I was photographing the blacktip reef sharks I heard a grunting noise and there was this Monk Seal sleeping just near by. It would roll around as the waves came up and lift its nostrils out to breath every minute or so. Olowalu, Maui.

The Monk Seal is Hawaii’s first land mammal to lay on the shores of the islands. They are endangered with numbers around 1,400 total. Its a rare treat to see one of these guys cruising our shores. They will eat nearly 10% of their weight in a day then lay on a beach to sleep [...]