Summer is the breeding season for males of Hawaiian Monk Seal

It’s the part of the breeding season for Hawaiian Monk Seal males in which they establish their dominance.

Most of the joisting are verbal; there’s usually very little physical interaction or injury. It’s all posturing to ensure who gets to father the next monk seal pup in the population. The older male seal establishes his dominance and kicks out younger ones.

RK05, 17 years old and RN30, 7 years old by Kauai Seals

RK05, 17 years old and RN30, 7 years old by Kauai Seals

In this particular scenario, RK05 (17 years old) was cruising and periscoping as males do. He saw RN30 (7 years old) on the beach, hauled out, and, as they say, showed the youngster whose roar is louder. RN30 rolled belly up for a bit, and once things settled down, he departed, slinking around the rocks and periscoping himself, eventually leaving the old guy to himself.

If there is female with them, males are fighting over a girl. This is much aggressive so sometimes they injure or kill a female.

In this video, boys are Kekoa Ali`i, RK72 (9 years old), RG28 (5 years old from Kauai), and R3CX (6 years old). A female is Kala, RH76 (4 years old) What do you think about who got a girl?