{"id":592638,"date":"2026-04-18T23:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/592638\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T23:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:41:11","slug":"peak-monk-seal-pupping-season-underway-in-hawai%ca%bbi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/592638\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak Monk Seal Pupping Season Underway in Hawai\u02bbi"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(BIVN) \u2013 Peak pupping season is underway across the islands for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources says monk seals give birth year-round, but the months from March through August are the busiest for births. From a DLNR news release issued on Friday:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After coming ashore to give birth, female Hawaiian monk seals nurse their pups for five to seven weeks. During this period, mothers invest all their energy into caring for their young and can be especially protective.<\/p>\n<p>While these events offer a rare opportunity to observe native wildlife, DLNR officials emphasize that human behavior plays a key role in ensuring the survival of both mother and pup.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-18-monk-seals-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-107158\" class=\"size-full wp-image-107158\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-18-monk-seals-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"960\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-107158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kaimana monk seals on May 1, 2024 (photo by Hawai\u02bbi DLNR)<\/p>\n<p>The DLNR is reminding beachgoers that Hawaiian monk seals are protected under both state and federal law, \u201cand it is illegal to harass, disturb or harm them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaintaining a safe distance helps prevent stress that can cause mothers to abandon their pups or act defensively,\u201d the department cautions. \u201cMother seals can weigh several hundred pounds and may bite if they feel threatened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you encounter a monk seal along Hawaiian beaches, best practices include:<\/p>\n<p>Keep dogs on a leash and well away from seals<br \/>\nStay at least 150 feet away from mothers with pups<br \/>\nStay at least 50 feet away from all monk seals<br \/>\nRemain behind any posted signs, cones or barriers<br \/>\nAvoid swimming near a mother and pup<br \/>\nUse a camera zoom or binoculars instead of approaching<\/p>\n<p>From the DLNR:<\/p>\n<p>Hawaiian monk seals are found nowhere else in the world and are an important part of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s natural and cultural heritage. Continued recovery of the species depends on the collective efforts of the community to respect wildlife and share shorelines responsibly.<\/p>\n<p>Community reports help biologists monitor seal health and respond quickly if intervention is needed.<\/p>\n<p>DLNR encourages the public to report monk seal sightings, especially those involving pups, to the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline at 888-256-9840.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(BIVN) \u2013 Peak pupping season is underway across the islands for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.\u00a0 The Hawai\u02bbi&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-592638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}