218 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL XIII, July 1959 
TABLE 2 
Reports of Monk Seals from the Main Islands of Hawaii 
DATE 
PLACE 
OBSERVER 
WHERE REPORTED 
REMARKS 
November 11, 1928 
Oahu, windward 
shore (N.E.) 
Thomas M. 
Blackman 
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 
"... in the vicinity sev- 
eral days.” 
October 26, 1931 
Oahu, north side 
J. P. Kaleo 
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 
"Seal frequently seen 3 
years ago. . . .” 
May 12, 1948 
Kauai, east side 
Philip Palama 
Honolulu Advertiser 
"Seal climbed out of 
water onto rocks. ...” 
October, 1951 
Oahu, entrance to 
Kewalo Basin 
Robert Dodge 
Letter, December 24, 
1957 
Seal bit at fishing line 
about 25 feet from 
shore 
March 30, 1955 
Oahu, V 2 mile off 
Waikiki Beach 
Gordon Freund 
Letter, December 24, 
1957 
Followed seal below 
surface while skin 
diving with aqualung 
Early July, 1956 
Hawaii, Kaehole 
Point, Kona Coast 
Eddie Y. Hosaka 
Letter, August 23, 
1957 
Seen at 0600, swimming 
slowly, close to shore 
July or August, 1956 
Lehua (off Niihau) 
Lindsey A. Faye 
Letter, August 9, 
1957 
Large adult hauled out 
on rocks; photo- 
graphed 
Lagoon were recorded by the Midway Aer- 
ology Unit for Kenneth Waldron of Pacific 
Oceanic Fishery Investigations (POFI). The 
extremes were 66.7°F. (March 30 to April 5 
mean and April 20-26 mean) and 76.8°F. 
(June 8-15 mean). Since these data differ 
little from those given in Table 3, they are 
not included here. 
Climatic Adaptation 
It is noteworthy that monk seals apparently 
show few adaptations to a warm climate. We 
were able to measure the deep body tempera- 
ture of one 380-pound adult male (BDM 
490 ). This seal had been resting for at least 
Vi hour prior to death on February 2, 1957, 
and did not move after it was shot. We im- 
mediately inserted a thermometer into a slit 
in the thoracic cavity. The heart was still 
beating and the thermometer was bathed in 
the blood gushing from the severed aorta. 
The rectal temperature was also taken by in- 
serting the thermometer 5 inches into the 
rectum. Several readings in both locations 
were taken alternately. The thoracic tempera- 
ture was 35.5°C., the rectal 31.1°C. The differ- 
ence suggests that a rectal temperature taken 
with a 6-inch thermometer may not be a re- 
liable indicator of body temperature. The 
deep body (thoracic) temperature of this in- 
dividual was lower than those reported for 
other species of pinnipeds. The deep body 
temperature of a captive harbor seal {Phoca 
vitulina) approximated 38°C. (Scholander, 
Irving, and Grinnell, 1942). Adult northern 
fur seals {Callorhinus ursinus) at rest had a 
mean deep body temperature of 37.7°C. 
(Bartholomew and Wilke, 1956). The average 
thoracic temperature of nonmolting southern 
elephant seals {Mirounga leonina) was 36.5°C. 
(Laws, 1956 ^). The rectal temperature of our 
monk seal was markedly lower than that of 
sleeping adult northern elephant seals (Mi- 
rounga angustirostris) which averaged 36°C. 
during the day and 34°C. at night (Bartholo- 
mew, 1954). 
The blubber layer on Hawaiian monk seals 
is light orange in color and about as thick as 
on arctic and antarctic seals. Our specimen 
had a heavy layer of blubber over the entire 
body. Over the mid-belly, it was 42-45 mm. 
thick. Pregnant females are especially fat but 
lose weight rapidly during the nursing period. 
The pup is extremely fat just prior to weaning. 
Compared with northern phocids, the pel- 
age of the adults is shorter, the individual 
