Only 2 species of monk seals survive in the world today. One lives in the remote areas of the Mediterranean Sea, and the other lives in the Leeward chain of the Hawaiian Islands. A third species used to inhabit the Caribbean, but was forced to extinction in the 1950s by the increased human use of the seal's habitat.

Monk Seals have streamlined bodies which make them good swimmer. Their front and back limbs are flipper-like – the front flippers, which have five digits, are smaller than the back flippers. The hind flippers cannot be turned forward, so to move on land, the seals must wiggle them. In the water, Hawaiian monk seals propel themselves by moving their hind flippers and using their front flippers as rudders.

Most Hawaiian Monk Seals live in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands - Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysan Island, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Necker Island, and Nihoa Island. Hawaiian Monk Seals are also often seen near Ni'ihau Island and Kauai Island.  At times, they have even been seen on the shores of Oahu. 

In recorded history there have only been four seals born on the main Hawaiian islands. Two of those births occurred in 1991 on the North shores of Oahu and Kauai.

The coral reefs found around these atolls and islands provide the Hawaiian Monk Seal with its food supply: spiny lobsters, octopuses, eels, and various reef fishes. Their enemies include humans, sharks, diseases, attacks from their own species, and marine debris such as lost fishing nets and plastic products.

Conservation Efforts
The Hawaiian Monk Seal recovery efforts are overseen by the National Marine Fisheries Service, in cooperation with other government and private organizations and universities. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages many remote islands as National Wildlife Refuges to protect their habitat.

Research includes monitoring monk seal reproduction, survival techniques, and behavior. In the main Hawaiian islands, volunteer groups routinely remove marine debris from the ocean and the beaches; in remote areas, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy lend a helping hand.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal was listed as an endangered species in 1976 under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Critical habitat was designated in 1988 from beaches to a depth of 20 fathoms (120 feet) around the northwestern Hawaiian islands.