The Hawaiian monk seal is the official Hawaii State mammal.

Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona signed a bill into law last week giving the endangered and much-beloved seal the official designation. Wildlife experts—who have long considered the seal one of the world’s most-endangered species—hope the move will raise international awareness about the native Hawaii mammal’s plight.

Roughly 1,200 Hawaiian monk seals remain in the wild—about 80 to 100 of these in waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands. The new bill will give the monk seals the same protection as the also endangered humpback whale—Hawaii's marine state mammal.

The Hawaiian monk seal population declines by about 4 percent each year. But experts are hopeful that the animal’s designation as an official state symbol will boost seal numbers again. Four monk seal pups have already been born this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been implementing monk seal outreach and education programs for years. Find out more about the Hawaiian monk seal and NOAA’s efforts to protect it here.  

Hawaiian monk seals are among the most endangered species of all seals, although its cousin species the Mediterranean Monk Seal is even rarer, and the Caribbean Monk Seal, last sighted the 1950's, was officially declared extinct in June 2008.  The Hawaiian monk seal was officially designated as an endangered species on November 23, 1976 and is now protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is illegal to kill, capture or harass a Hawaiian monk seal.

Monk seal species have shown alarming population declines in recent years due to the rapid spread of human activity to even the most remote and isolated areas in the Hawaiian Islands. In the nineteenth century, Hawaiian Monk Seals were clubbed to death by whalers and sealers for their meat, oil and their skin. They were also hunted during World War II when the US forces occupied Laysan Island and Midway.

Death from predation by sharks, reduced pup survival as the result of human disturbances, ciguatera poisoning, high male to female ratios during the breeding season, and entanglement in fishing nets and debris all have led to the species' decline. These threats have taken a toll on the species, as it has been nearly eradicated from part of its former range (including Oahu, Kaua'i, and the Big Island of Hawaii), yet rare sightings still occur on the North Shore of Kauai in Haena, and also at Hakalau Bay on the Big Island. Monk seals are currently found on Laysan, Midway, Pearl and Hermes Atoll, French Frigate Shoals, and Lisianski.