Catherine Cruz/Hawaii Public Radio
Wildlife officials want people and their dogs on a Waikiki beach to give an endangered newborn seal and its nursing mother lots of space.
Kaiwi, a Hawaiian monk seal mom and her pup, PO2, are nursing and bonding at Kaimana Beach, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Wednesday.
State and federal officials want people to go to another beach for swimming and paddling for the next several weeks.
“Like all mothers, monk seals are very protective of their pups,” David Schofield, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine mammal coordinator, said in a release. “While they are resting on the beach, they look docile, but once they go into the water they can move very, very fast, like lightning speed. If a mother seal detects any threat to her pup, she is likely to attack and that is a major concern for us.”