ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua

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I heard a SNORT! and was surprised to see -- right in front of me -- this beautiful creature.  She looked at me, and I at her.  I didn't move for a bit.  I took a couple photos.  I backed away and left her to be.
 
I had been visiting a beach down the road from Waipahu.  While this photo is a close-up, you can see that the water and reef and monk seal have the same coloration.  So I was looking over her, at the ocean (kai or moana).
 
Just another example of the beauty that lies RIGHT IN FRONT OF US that we often overlook, as well as a reminder that WE ARE JUST ONE SPECIES AMONG MANY in this world.  
 
 
After I left, I looked this creature up on Google, and then called the NOAA wildlife hotline and left a message.  (Given the federal layoffs, I'm not sure if anyone answered.).  
 
 
The official Hawaiian word for these monk seals is ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua.  They are the state mammal.  They are critically endangered.
 
 
 
 
Encounters with Nature will be a theme I return to in subsequent blogs.  In Hawaiian culture, such encounters are more than "observation."  There is a relationship involved.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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