Which endangered seal species is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands?

The endangered seal species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands is the Hawaiian monk seal.

Its scientific name is Neomonachus schauinslandi, and it is the only seal native to Hawaii. Most Hawaiian monk seals live around the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, although a smaller population uses beaches and coastal waters around the main Hawaiian Islands. The species is one of only two living mammals endemic to Hawaii; the other is the Hawaiian hoary bat.

The name “monk seal” refers to short hairs on the head that were thought to resemble a monk’s hood. Native Hawaiians call the animal ʻīlio-holo-i-ka-uaua, meaning “dog that runs in rough water.” It is also Hawaii’s official state mammal.

A common mix-up is the Mediterranean monk seal, which is another surviving monk seal species but lives in the Mediterranean and nearby Atlantic waters. The Caribbean monk seal, once found in the Caribbean, is extinct.