Hawaiian Monk Seal — Kenyon and Rice 
The black coat begins to appear "moth- 
eaten” and has faded from jet black to a dark 
chocolate brown. At age 39 days, MS-9 had 
patches of faded natal hair clinging to the 
lower back, sides, and abdomen, nearly meet- 
ing along the mid-ventral line, between the 
anal and penile openings. At this time, MS- 
10, the same age as MS-9 but larger, had 
completed its molt. 
By the time the black pup coat is entirely 
lost, the first postnatal pelage has completely 
grown in. 
ADULT AND SUBADULT PELAGE: After the 
postnatal molt, the ventral areas are silvery 
white, darkening to light silvery gray on the 
sides and dorsally to dark slate gray faintly 
tinged with a silvery sheen. When wet, the 
243 
back appears dark sooty brown (Fig. 13). 
When the new pelage is fresh, immediately 
after molting, no yellowish tinge is evident. 
However, after about a month the light belly 
may, for unknown reasons, take on a slight 
yellowish tinge. Before the end of its first 
year, the pup becomes quite yellowish. 
Yearlings and 2-year-olds of both sexes are 
lighter than older animals. 
The color of all adult monk seals observed 
in fresh pelage was unmarked silvery white or 
light silvery gray ventrally and dark silvery 
tinged brown or slate gray dorsally. As the 
hair ages, the silvery tinge is lost, the ventral 
surface takes on a decidedly yellowish color 
and dorsally the hair becomes dull brown, 
darker in some individuals than in others. 
Fig. 13. Male monk seal pup aged 39 days and recently weaned. The black natal coat has been completely lost. 
The pelage is marked by water splashes. Note extreme obesity. Midway Atoll, May 2, 1957 (KWK 57-17-17). 
