Fin feet. Seals are pinnipeds. That group also includes walruses and sea lions. Pinniped means “fin-footed.” An X-ray of a fin would show a set of bones similar to your own arm, wrist, hand, and finger bones.

How to tell one seal from another. The black pup will turn gray and brown as it grows. Most Hawaiian monk seals have unique white spots that help people tell them apart. Scientists also attach identification tags to their flippers.

Hold your breath! These critters can hold their breath for 20 minutes as they dive 1,800 feet into the sea. Normally, though, they go under for just six minutes. They find most of their food less than 200 feet down.

I’ll have the whole menu, please. Fish? Squid? Octopus? Yep, yep, and yep. Hawaiian monk seals also munch on eels, crabs, shrimp, and lobster. They find prey hiding under rocks or in sand.

Home sweet Hawaii. Most live in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. A few also make their home in the main Hawaiian Islands. They forage in coral beds and have babies on the sandy beach.

All the seals in one basket. Hawaiian seals live in just one place. If Hawaii runs out of seal food or habitat, the whole species could go kaput. Hawaiian monk seals compete with sharks for food. (You can guess who usually wins.) They get tangled in old fishing gear. Storms wash away their beach homes. The animals can get sick with an infection called toxoplasmosis. (Cats and people can get that too.) In the past, people hunted the seals.

What’s in a name? The Hawaiian monk seal gets its name because the skin on its head looks like a monk’s hood. Monks have a reputation for spending time alone. Monks seals do too. Hawaiians have another name for the seals. It is `Ilio holo I ka uaua. This means “dog that runs in rough water.”

Praise the Lord from the Earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps. — Psalm 148:7