Monk Seal

Laura's father, Foster, is a retired DNR parks manager. He's not a big fan of sitting on the beach, but found a way to pass his time here on Kauai true to his DNR roots. He is a member of the monk seal response team. The monk seals are an endangered species here in Hawaii, and because of this are a highly protected animal. They come up onto sandy beaches to sun themselves on a regular basis. In order to prevent tourists from bothering them and chasing them away, volunteers rope off a large area around the seals to keep the people back. Foster was trained in this during his first trip here, and he has been the volunteer for Lawai beach each time he's come here. He is sort of "on call" all the time, should a seal come up on the beach. On our first full day here (yesterday) on of the seals came up. Here's a few pictures. You can learn more about the monk seals at: http://www.kauaimonkseal.com/