A Big Problem

The Hawaiian monk seal has large brown eyes and bristly whiskers. These features make it look a lot like a big, lazy dog. But unlike dogs, the monk seal is endangered. There are only 1,200 to 1,300 of them left in the wild.

Monk seals spend most of their time in shallow water around coral reefs. Laws set aside these areas for the seals. This will protect them from harmful people or activities. Yet the number of monk seals keeps shrinking.

What the Crittercam Found Seals spend a lot of time in shallow water. Scientists thought that’s where seals must catch their food. The Crittercam showed this is not true. Seals do not feed in shallow water. They hunt for crab and eel in deeper water. They may also look for octopus and other big fish there.

Thanks to Crittercam, scientists now know how important deep water is to the monk seal. Now we can also help monk seals get protection in deeper waters.

The Crittercam allows Marshall and his team to follow the monk seal into deep water.