LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI@STARBULLETIN.COM A Hawaiian monk seal seemed to enjoy yesterday's attention from a crowd of spectators outside the Colony Surf Hotel.

Seal steals the
show on busy
Waikiki Beach

An endangered Hawaiian monk seal clambered onto usually busy Waikiki Beach yesterday to the delight of tourists and local residents.

"It's very, very rare to see them in Waikiki," said Thea Johanos, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wildlife biologist, though they have come a few times in the past.

"We have seals on the North Shore (of Oahu), Waianae and Sandy Beach, but I haven't heard of a seal at Waikiki," said Jeff Walters, biologist for the state Division of Aquatic Resources.

Volunteers for NOAA have tracked this adult male seal, dubbed "Chester" because of a recognizable scar on his chest. He usually inhabits the southeastern waters of Oahu, Johanos said.

The monk seal, one of about 1,300 in the world, crawled at 9:30 a.m. onto the beach behind the Colony Surf Hotel. Police and Department of Land and Natural Resources officials were immediately called and surrounded the animal with yellow tape and posted signs to keep a distance of 150 feet.

"It's the first time I've seen a real seal on the beach before," said 7-year-old Blake Ward, who stared through a pair of binoculars. "It's interesting. I saw its mouth and whiskers."

LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI@STARBULLETIN.COM Tourists and residents stopped to look at a Hawaiian monk seal named Chester yesterday at the Colony Surf Hotel beach in Waikiki.

"I think it's neat for the kids to see it," said his father, John, who brought his two children to the beach after school.

Rhode Island visitor Kathy Cardoza spotted the seal from her 12th-floor hotel room and immediately called her grandson to tell him what he was missing. "What a marvelous experience," she said. She and her husband rushed down to take more pictures and send them home.

For most of the day, Chester rolled over, shifted occasionally and mostly rested. Occasionally, the black-and-gray seal wiped the sand off his nose using a flipper.

As the news spread, a large crowd began to gather behind the yellow tape, and at about 4:30 p.m., Chester wriggled his chubby body closer to the onlookers.

This allowed diners at Michel's at the Colony Surf, with its large picture windows, to enjoy an added treat.

Walters said the seals are thought to lounge on the beach after a meal and warm up.

"Typically they are not attracted to people," he said. "It's hard to know what's motivating their behavior."

Walters said the seal's hauling itself onto Waikiki Beach might suggest they are getting used to people and are altering their behavior because people might be feeding them.

If that is happening, "they won't forage or feed properly," he said.

Also, monk seals do bite and have "big teeth like a big dog, maybe stronger than a big dog," he said.

The recommended 150-foot distance is as much to protect people as the seals, Walters said.