Life History of the Hawaiian Monk Seal 
Karl W. Kenyon and Dale W. Rice^ 
The Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus 
schauinslandi Matschie, 1905, has long re- 
mained one of the rarest and least known of 
marine mammals. Few zoologists have been 
able to reach the remote mid-Pacific coral 
atolls on which it breeds, and their visits have 
been brief. While engaged in zoological stud- 
ies in the Leeward Chain of the Hawaiian 
Islands, we were able to observe these seals 
from aircraft throughout their principal range, 
and to make detailed studies of those in- 
habiting Midway Atoll, We also landed on 
Green Island in Kure Atoll. Our field study 
covers the period from November 17, 1956, 
to October 11, 1957, 
We gratefully acknowledge the help of the 
following: J. W. Aldrich, P. L. Breese, V. E. 
Brock, E. H. Bryan, M. B. Chitwood, C. F. 
Clagg-, E. Y. Dawson, R. Dodge, P, A, Du- 
Mont, L. A. Faye, Y. J. Golvan, J. E. Graves, 
E. Y, Hosaka, P. L. Illg, E, C. Jones, C, R, 
Joyce,;. E, King, J. A. Neff, G. H. Pournelle, 
W. Pointon, R, A. Rausch, F. Richardson, 
C. S, Robbins, V. B. Scheffer, D. W. Stras- 
burg, S. W. Tinker, A. L. Tester, K, Waldron, 
K. A. Wong, and D. H. Woodside, The help 
of Naval personnel stationed at Midway was 
invaluable, particularly that given by Capt. 
E. T, Hughes, Comdr, J. L. Hooper, Lt. 
Comdr. D. E. Moritz, Lt. Comdr. J. F. Reilly, 
Lt. D. H. Picht, Ens. R. T. Takahashi, and 
Chief;. H. Green. 
HISTORY 
Sealing expeditions during the middle of 
the 19th century reduced the Hawaiian monk 
1 Biologists, U. S. Department of the Interior, Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Sand Point Naval Air Station, 
Seattle 15, Washington. Manuscript received March 
3, 1958. 
seal population to near extinction. Undoubt- 
edly guano diggers, bird hunters, and whalers 
further depleted the remnant during the late 
1800’s and early 1900’s. In 1824 a sealing 
expedition by the brig "Aiona” was thought 
to have taken the last monk seal; but after a 
''sealing and exploring voyage” to the Lee- 
ward Islands between April 26 and August 7, 
1859, Capt. N. C. Brooks of the bark "Gam- 
bia” returned to Honolulu having . . . "on 
board 240 bbls., seal oil, 1,500 skins. . . 
During six weeks on Laysan in 1911, Dill and 
Bryan (1912) and their party watched for 
seals but saw none. They were told by Max 
Schlemmer that during the 15 years he had 
lived on Laysan, seven seals had been killed. 
One of these was the specimen given to 
Schauinsland in 1896, upon which Matschie 
( 1905 ) based the description of the species. 
During subsequent years, the few expeditions 
visiting the Leeward Chain reported increas- 
ing numbers of seals (Bailey, 1952). For a 
more complete historical treatment, see King 
(1956). 
2 The Polynesian, August 13, 1859- We question this 
report for the following reasons: (1) In view of present 
populations, if in 1824 the seals were nearly wiped out, 
it seems doubtful that 1,500 could have been taken on 
a 103“day voyage in 1859- The reported take of seals 
indicates an average of about 15 seals per day. During 
this period, more than 2,200 miles were covered and 
explorations made in uncharted waters. (2) Seals are 
characteristically scattered along many miles of beach. 
These beaches are difficult of access from the sea. 
Skinning seals, scraping and curing skins, collecting 
and rendering the blubber of many widely separated 
individuals would have been a tremendous undertak- 
ing. Therefore, we made a careful search for the journals 
and log books of Capt. Brooks. His daughter, Miss 
Dorothy Brooks, told us that these were lost in the 
San Francisco fire of I906. (3) In spite of the fact that 
The Polynesian gives an otherwise detailed report of the 
"Gambia’s” voyage and explorations, including ac- 
counts of various wildlife species, it mentions seals 
only in the lead paragraph, as quoted above. 
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