She is a 60 year old teacher from California. Her and her husband are vacationing in Hawaii for 3 weeks at the time she was attacked. In a interview she said there were about 10 other swimmers around her. I've watched about 4 or 5 different videos and she's the only one. She admitted to knowing about the endangered Hawaiian Monk seal since she watched the birth of Rockys pup. She was warned not to go swimming but chose to ignore the warning. IMHO she is guilty. Rocky was protecting her pup as any wildlife would do. Mahalo Chris 🌺 btw, if you really want to see what idiots tourists are, check out Yellowstone National Park and how the tourists insist on petting the wild bison. There are signs all over and the park rangers keep warning them not to get near and pet the bisons. And yes they do get tossed in the air by a 2 thousand pound bison.
I live in the mountains. We've had a massive wave of city dwellers. They get so surprised that moose ,bears and other wild life don't act like some Disney cartoon. Then when I tell them it's their fault the bears destroyed everything. Who in the hell just leaves food laying around outside including dog food and not think that will draw hungry bears ?
I lived in Estes Park and have been yelled at for warming people about being to close to bears, moose, calving Elk. I have an extensive collection of "Tourists getting too close to wildlife" photos I took over 7 years.
Aloha My name is Sean I'm 45 from Molokai born & raised! To my understanding the Hawaiian monk seal is sacred not only because endangered mammal. But it also a aumakua to some of us Kanaka Maoli that we get mad because when like take that Kodak moment @ the beach when a seal & her calf, that fact is if you get bit or get hurt, blame yourselves! The signs are but you like niele maha'oe and no listen to everyone telling for your safety to stay away! Blame yourselves no go sue anybody for damages because the only damage that happened is your negligence! Mahalo & Aloha Sean Ellis
"Hello from Hawai'i" is such a remarkable asset to Hawai'i. We locals appreciate all you do and we are very proud to have you speak so fairly and eloquently on behalf of our environment and people. Mahalo.
Mahalo. However, I just want to note that I speak for myself. I acknowledge that there are other locals who may disagree and they are entitled to their opinion. But I appreciate the support 🤙
These past two+ years have been so unusual and I have to assume much fewer tourists around. I think that gave wildlife a needed breather from the intensity of tourists in their habitat. Now that tourists are back, I wonder if monk seals or other wildlife are going to be more territorial. When a swimmer goes into the ocean, there are risks taken, even in places that look harmless, like Waikiki.
I was going to bring up Hanauma Bay too! Even Electric Beach had significantly more dolphin and shark activity. A lot of my freediver friends were also super judgemental but I tried to take a step back and say... What if they were an open water swimmer and didn't see them around. Eventually the husband and wife testified in front of Hawaii officials their perspective and that's pretty much exactly what happened. I'm not a local but I know tourists here are kinda ignorant. When I first got here I swam to the Mokes from Lanikai. I ended up with a Man of War in my mouth along with stings all over my arms and face. Locals were like.. Shouldn't be swimming shortly after full moon. They all over here. Gotta learn somehow. Just happy it wasn't with a monk seal... Tiger Sharks scare me less than Monk Seals
, I can’t speak for all tourist but coming from nz we are taught to respect Our oceans and wildlife , but knowing that The locals do not like visitors or particularly Want us there has really put a downer on my up coming trip , (or have I just misread this video )
@@burt101welly6 It's not all locals. Most are respectful if you are respectful. Ive never had an issue. The not so mutual ones are the kind no one, local or resident alike should appreciate as It's not aloha, pono, or malama to just hate outsiders. If you're from New Zealand... From my understanding your country has a strong history of islanders. The bottom line is they don't like entitled American tourists. But if you are respectful and bring chill vibes. You're not likely to have any issues or fe unwelcome
@@Flowmada thank you we as kiwis like to think we are respectful, and do not want to disrespect anyone else’s culture , or put Anyone out of there way, I have a trip booked next month for me and my family so am looking forward to experiencing the sights and people over there , but thank you for your comments,
This incident reminds me of something I encountered when I was still living in Hawaii about 25 years ago. A Hawaiian monk seal came ashore to rest on the beach at lagoon #4 at Ko'olina back when there was still a big dirt lot that accommodated a huge number of cars and only locals tended to use the beach there. There were lots of people surrounding the monk seal on the beach and in the water - some as close as 10 feet or less. No one was keeping 150 feet away, and I remember one little keiki wahine no more than 4 y.o. throwing sand at it. Again, these were all locals. But there was no lifeguard at the beaches out there at that time. No one to keep people away, and nobody seemed to know the proper behavior to keep the monk seal and themselves safe. I don't think I even had a cellphone yet at that time, but I didn't have any idea who to call about the situation even if I did have one. It's a miracle that no one got hurt. Long story short, we locals don't always know the correct way to behave, and I suspect that a lot of learning/education took place locally in the intervening years.
I think it would be so good if they made people aware on the flight over of the endangered species, dangers of the ocean etc so it would hopefully cut back on some of the things we're seeing now. It can be bad for all involved.
@@HelloFromHawaii I've flown Hawaiian twice and United once. There's nothing mandatory on either airline, but both have videos available about the land and wildlife of Hawaii, and how to be respectful of those things, if you choose to watch them.
@@HelloFromHawaii yeah it would be great if they could put something together bc honestly some places have way different rules where they encourage to feed the wild animals, like the pigs at the beach in the Bahamas, etc. So, a quick, can, no can would be great for here!
Yes, did this swimmer read the warning signs, if any was placed on the beach? Before she walked into the ocean, did she not scan the area she was planning to swim in? The size of the mother, monk seal was noticeable, even from a distance?
@@HelloFromHawaii The full video does show signs and fences warning about monk seals in the area. Very gracious approach to the subject overall, and I think more people need to have a similar mindset. Overall it is a shame it happened, but not heeding to warnings about wildlife/dangerous trails/extreme surf warnings is going against common sense and only putting oneself in danger.
She was swimming in Monk Seal water. It's a stretch of water marked as Monk Seal area. She went *swimming* (distance swimming; not dipping or dunking in one spot in the shallows right off the sand). This individual went stroking-distance swimming in open water off the beach. It is marked, signed and identified. As Monk Seal Area. I used to go swimming for years (distance swimming) like, 100-yarders, 200 round trip. (Me, Local born and raised before going to the Mainland - used to be North Shore, off the beach, in open water). However I myself would never have gone into water that had been marked signed and identified as Monk Seal water. For example, a stretch of area that was a thousand foot stretch of water that was marked as such. (I would go swim somewhere else). She went swimming there knowingly. Had she been injured or even killed by the Seal (eliminating a large-bodied threat to the pup) it would have been, unfortunately and sadly, tragically, entirely and wholly her own at-fault. Remember, to the mother Seal (recently-given birth), there is no difference between a shark, another threat seal, or a human, which an adult human is Seal-sized, or at least a smaller yet still lethal shark. A shark will *eat* the pup in an instant without thinking twice. The mother Seal's biological purpose is to insure the survival of the pup (that it is not *eaten* ). The mother Seal was doing nothing bad or wrong; on the contrary, it was doing what was good and right. And ultimately, the swimmer did something obviously stupid and nearly got herself killed. One last thought: Do you guys think this swimmer will do this again (go swimming like this in that same exact place, *again* ?). Would *you* if you had made this error? Maybe the swimmer will answer my query. Does she think she errored? (Do *you* think *you* would have errored? Just something for thought).
@@kristinesharp6286 the area doesn't have a strong current. She swam where she shouldn't have and placed herself in danger. When seals enter the water, they swim wherever they choose, usually not in one spot. And when they have a young pup, do not swim out to deeper water. If the woman assumed the seal and her pup were gone because they were not on the beach, she assumed wrong. Their absence meant they were in the water and in the area where she planned to swim. That was where the woman went wrong and placed herself in danger.
Visitors here don't listen, while at a very popular beach for viewing turtles I saw like 5-7 people completly disregard the signs, warnings, and the volunteer that was there asking for space. To the snorkeling spot I frequent I've seen more and more tourist every week and every week I need to go up to them and "Be a Karen apparently" . I'm not local and I'm soon leaving the island but I 100% understand why Locals get so bothered by visitors etc, most are entitled when coming here!
According to Hawaii News Now, the couple was visiting for three weeks and the husband said that they both were aware of the warnings but did not see the monk seals on the beach. So.. why would anyone go swim in the fenced off area if they don't see the seal on the beach? It most likely meant that the monk seals were out swimming if the signs were still up. But anyways it looks like it made national news so atleast now much more visitors should be aware.
In this situation, how can anyone help her? Swim out and try to scare the monk seal away? Potential causing the monk seal to abandon its young? There’s a barrier there for a reason and it isn’t only applied to the beach but also the water that’s directly in front of the barrier.
@@lite3857 the real heroes of the story. I do wonder if she mistook the wildlife people for beach patrol. Odd for a teacher to swim alone in the ocean without some sort of beach patrol or lifeguard.
Tourist or local, it doesn't matter. If it were a local, the harsh comments would be the same, if not worse. Warnings are in place for a reason. Whether you see the immediate danger or not, there is the potential for danger. If you choose to gamble & lose, you must take ownership for the consequences. Teachers teach their students to respect people & the land. As a mainland teacher, I've taught my little keikis to respect the ocean. I admit, I am bias to islands in my teachings, but they know to respect everything from marine life to lava rocks to picking up rubbish. I am glad she wasn't hurt badly. She definitely needs to give huge mahalo for those who helped her. No need to bash her more. Just wish her a quick recovery & hope "lesson" was learned and she'll teach others from her experience. Not all tourists are bad folks. Just have to educate them e.g. like the tourist who tried to fish at Kuhio Beach (my cuz took care of that, haha. No worries, no harm, no foul). #livealoha
My only experience with a Hawaiian monk seal was in the fall of 2000 on Kauai. My husband and I hiked the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach. I walked down to the water and was admiring the scenery until somebody yelled to me that one of the large rocks was actually a seal. One would think that such a large animal would be easy to see, but it blended with the rocks so well that I had no idea it was there. I moved away from the seal to a more respectful distance and got some lovely photos of it.
you are sweet and i feel your aloha...mahalo for your report. You took the time to examine this incident, and to give a fuller perspective. I appreciate you!
🌴 Well said. I’m a local who hasn’t lived at home for 40 years but yes, shame on us. Think that mentality is ingrained in us. Initially we assume, tourists. 🤦🏻♀️ We’re tourists, too. We need to rethink and re-examine. Enjoy your videos. 👍🏼 But don’t play with bears, etc. 🙄 Aloha. 🌴
In my 15 1/2 years living on Kauai, I can only recall seeing one story about a human actually attacking a monk seal. It was a few years ago and happened right near where I live at Salt Pond. A nineteen year old local started punching it in such a vicious manner on the beach that the seal barely survived. In Nawiliwili park one day a monk seal had hauled out nearby. My local friends were explaining what a pidgeon like nuisance they were and talked about running it off. For the record, during my regular exercise swim, I have swam outside of marked off resting monk seals without disturbing them at all as far as I can tell. Speaking of the hypocritical blaming of tourists, an interesting thing happened at nearby Polihali state park. They reopened it during the pandemic when the island had almost no tourists. They had to close it back down because of how bad it got trashed the opening weekend. We seem to have an issue with the blowing up of toilets here. Now I know whose bored juvenile delinquents are parenting this bunch. Jus sayin. Disrespect comes from ignorance more than culture. Aloha🤙
Too many times we see tourist being stupid. Although this is a case by case type thing. Seems she did not provoke the attack, just in the wrong place, wrong time. Land area was roped off, but no "notice" in the water around the seal area. She may have started her swim further away or opposite end of Kaimana Beach. Either way, I was surprised she wasn't cited. Just as if you got in a car accident. Sure, it wasn't intended, but you were at fault and get ticketed/cited. I feel the swimmer should have been.
And STILL, even AFTER this happened people got really close to Rocky and her Pup, so we have learned NOTHING!!! There was even some Stupid Father carrying their child in their arms literally Right next to Rocky and it is SOOO Disrespectful to those Beautiful Animals!!! There was Also some Ridiculous HillBilly couple who were Asked to Move away from Rocky where they were sitting and they REFUSED!! WTF!!! No Wonder Tourists are Hated by the Locals!!!
As a 20+ year US Army Veteran, this is exactly what people need to hear. I visited many places in my Army career and there was one thing every place had in common. I am the visitor. I need to ask, understand, and follow the local customs, the local laws, and at times simply the local ohana ways of things in the world around us. Be respectful, be courteous, and understand that there many ways of looking at a situation. Mahalo nui loa for a great video and way of thinking!
Thank you for making videos with very good content. I' m from California & have visited Hawaii 9 times the past 10 years. From the last trip in Kauai Jun '22, we felt like we were being punished from visiting Hawaii, due to local outright hostility (eg, service people showing attitudes). We are mature/respectful couple & can tell unreasonable hostility. We love HI but are considering not returning to HI for a while.... It's sad! Warm wishes to your family.
Thank you for watching the video and sharing your experience. Sorry to hear that you felt the hostility. I hope that local/tourist relations improve as things return to normal.
Don’t feel bad. I’m a concierge on Kauai and it was REALLY HARD to give people the level of service they deserved, being short staffed and having people always mad at us for being unable to take care of them the way they expected. Some guests were awesome- as I’m sure you were, others were entitled and completely beyond rude. In my 30 years of doing this job it has never been more stressful. I feel like it’s mostly improving, so do come back!!! 💖🌺🐠🌈
I was at the sandbar in Kaneohe last week and a turtle came by and said whussup. I watched it swim by, took awe in the moment, and then when on with my day. You are 100% correct about the accidental encounters. Just let it happen, and appreciate that it did.
Greetings from Austria! You wouldn't believe how many people go on hikes tours in the alps with sneakers/sandals or generally disregard weather warnings. Some also think that mountain rescue is some sort of taxi service to get them home, when they are overwhelmed.
Thanks for your thoughts Chris. I love Kaimana Beach but close it off completely during the birthing months to avoid such incidents from happening again.
I’m actually surprised she swam without a life guard there. I mean would there not have been a life guard? Did she mistake the wildlife people for beach patrol?
Have you thought about Podcast? I would listen to your podcast. Your perspective are clear and balanced. I live in AK and we get quite a bit of tourists here as well. Most times I 100% believe tourists here are innocent and unaware how quickly wildlife may spring up on them. It’s like yes, you’re in the city but also yes a bear or moose may also be walking the streets and please don’t go near them for your own safety. Most tourists think we’re kidding but no really, we’re not kidding. It’s also not common knowledge at all for those who think it’s common sense. Our schools and public media frequently teach us to respect wildlife. Sometimes locals live in a community bubble and expect others to abide with the same rules but a lot of grace needs to be given to tourists. Tourists are most times city folks who have never interacted in true nature. A man from the lower 48 actually got fine because he wanted a closer shot of a grizzly bear feeding! Like omg, isn’t that common sense not to do that!? I wasn’t upset or angry but feared for his safety. It’s surprising and interesting to hear that local Hawaiians instant reaction to the tourist was anger. Personally it looked like she was swimming in the ocean and somehow accidentally interacted with wildlife. It’s something I can see myself accidentally doing while visiting Hawaii too. I’d like to hear more about why local Hawaiians dislike tourists so much.
Mahalo for the comment. Yeah, I thought about a podcast, but not sure if I have the time. Maybe one day. It would be an interesting topic to go into why some locals dislike tourists.
Hi, I was wondering I you have heard anything more on the 16yo Daylenn Pua disappearance while hiking the Stairway to Heaven. This was a few years ago but I am still trying to find out anything new.
I’m sorry but he ‘caught it’ on film. Does not mean he was filming on purpose for that particular encounter. The scenery is lovely, not odd for a tourist to take a video of the ocean from their ocean view room. Gosh the seal already attacked her. Humans are creatures too.
@@kristinesharp6286 so .. they've been there for three weeks, which is about the same time as the seal and her pup, signs everywhere, no one else in the water ... And he just happens to be filming the way who can't swim well to being with???
@@kristinesharp6286 I don't feel bad at all. Warning signs all around us .. keep away from seals, don't eat Tide pods, don't put a fork in the toaster, don't let the bison.
Last year on family vacation my family wondered down at Halona Cove was taking pictures and I almost stepped on a Monk Seal , there was around 15 people in the cove and no one saw it until I did a sudden stop. It was huge and blended with the rocks. No idea it was there.
Local, non-local, tourist, alien or otherwise, I don't see how anyone would come to the conclusion that the swimmer did anything to provoke the seal. She had a pup with her and obviously felt threatened. There is an enormous difference between this video and a tourist walking up and intentionally touching or harassing a sea turtle. I'm other news, I'm in Arizona and we have a similar situation here. Tourists come to Phoenix and take over our mountains and sensitive hiking areas. Some of them do so during the summer months and meet an unfortunate outcome. When I read these stories in the news, I often (and shamefully) think - HA! That's what you get for hiking to that area in the middle of July when it's 118 degrees outside! In actuality, there could have been a legitimate medical situation or a multitude of other scenarios vs. a tourist simply being negligent or disrespectful. The downfall of social media is you get a 30 second reel... which is just about enough time to pass judgment about a complete story we don't have all the details on. Unfortunately, I'm guilty as charged just like the rest of you.
Years ago in Canada while hiking. I wdd as led in to a small cleaning to encounter a calf , cow and bull moose . I back away slowly. Later in the safety of my auto, thought how blessed I was to see these Majestic beast and not be harmed
Stop swimming near the surrounding areas of mon seals especially if there a pup. Make sure to do your research of the beach area where you want to swim prior to swimming.
I respectfully disagree. There are literally hundrends of other beaches she could have gone to. Some only 5 minute walk from there. She choose this beach while her husband was filming from their extended stay rental overlookign the fenced off beach. Honestly sounds really suspicious. plus she is swimming in section where no one is but several hundred feet away are a bunch of people in water. She is 60 not 5 and should know there is usually a reason people give an area some space. DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! They knew Rocky had given birth as this beach is in front of their condo and fencing and multiple signage was up for 3 weeks. People on beach told her not to go in the water and she did anyway because she didn't "see Rocky or the pup". Proceeded to NOT to keep at least 150 feet away from them. I also don't believe the not hearing anything. sound actually travel farther in water than air. People constantly do stuff for clout and pictures then act like they never knew when they face conscequences. Also don't know about other airlines but Hawaiian has the education videos upon landing but I see almost everyone completely ignoring the video to play with their phones. I am too old and tired and frustrated to be okay with this level of willful ignorance on part of visitors. They DON'T WANT to know better because Hawaii is Disneyland to them. DNLR refuses to truly enforce the rules for the most endangered mammal in the world. You know what would stop people from abusing hawaii natural environment? If State actually enforced the rules a couple times and fined people the $50,000. Until DLNR actually does their job , I guess Rocky will have to continue protecting herself. The Reason people get so upset is not just because racism or usvs them but because the knowledge that no of this sustainable. People are loving places and things to death.
@@HelloFromHawaii I guess State and DLNR got enough flack and enough not listening cause now they having 24/7 patrol to keep people away from Rocky and her Pup for next month. 😁
Anyone with good common sense knows to keep distance from wildlife. Sea turtles come on shore to rest and be left alone and idiots come over to pet them while they rest. How would they like if someone comes over and pet them on the head when they’re sleeping in the beach getting a sun tan.
She was not all that close and trying to get away. It’s between the seal and her. Thank goodness someone helped without hurting the seal and while she was still alive.
It's unfortunate that this incident occurred, but it has gained national news. Hopefully viewers are a little more aware of following beach guidelines when visiting our islands.
If the women was a local , why did she ignore the Signs on the beach ,, Locals would be well aware of the signs ! A tourist however would not possibly not be aware of the Signs. Tourists would not exactly know about staying away from Monk Seals or Turtles. Unless they have researched stuff on TH-cam about their Hawaiian destination.
HNN says she and her husband was visiting Hawaii for three weeks. But I agree that locals wouldn't even swim to the side where the monk seal is staying. However that's more of a common sense kind of thing.
My understanding of the swimmer was that she was from California and she and her husband had visited here before. They rented a condo because they stay longer than than the usual visitor. Having been to Hawaii before and staying in Waikiki, they should have known about the monk seals. Additionally, it was blasted all over the news! So unless they were under a rock, she should have known, what with all the barricades up. On the other hand, why didn't the life guards try to stop her. If people saw her continuing to swim closer to the Kaimana Beach, someone could have intervened. The most logical person would be the lifeguards. I feel bad that she got attacked. Maybe the hotel people could assist with informing the guests about things to watch out for. If everybody helps visitors in that way, then everybody helps the monk seals.
i have t say I came to the same conclusion that you did in the end. The swimmer clearly did not attack the seals or even intentionally cross their paths. The real issue seems to be the almost psychotic need of so many to find an enemy and hate on them! Try cleaning your own house first!
I remember the first time I saw a sea turtle while snorkeling I started to reach out and then 🤔thought came to me ? Do I want it to reach out and touch me⁉️
Solid thoughts that mirrored my own. I'm not local but all my freediver friends were super judgement and said she deserved it. I didn't really judge until hearing the testimony to Hawaii officials and it was just a situation of thinking it's okay to do something everyone else is doing until it's not okay and you're the last one to find out you're in a bad situation. No one was seriously injured and it brought awareness to respect Hawaii wild life. I choose to see positives. Tourists do dB stuff everywhere
You’re 💯 right about that knee jerk instant reaction. I felt it too and then I had to step back and read up more on the situation. Sometimes we make the snap judgements without all of the information and that’s unfair. Plus with social media shame time we need to be a little kinder and less quick to jump on people. If she DID ignore the boundaries she won’t ever do it again. Or it was an honest mistake. 🤷♀️🌺
When this event unfolded I said we didn't have enough information and people were too quick to judge. I got shouted down. I don't understand why waiting for.information before slamming a potential innocent swimmer was bad.
1) Gosh, this attack looks harrowing, at first glance, doesn't it? 2) Chris, thank you so much for listing where all of the topics that you cover in this video are located, in case people do not want to listen to the whole video, or simply just do not have the time to listen to the whole thing. 3) Yes, it is never wise to piss off ANY Hawai'ian, or Local of the lovely islands. But, that can be said of anyone anywhere, can't it? 4) I like this critical analysis of your thought process, too, Chris. Oftentimes, things are not always what they seem to be, at first, are they? 5) I have never seen ANY tourist wear a swimming cap when in the oceans, ever. You are right about that and also that tourists do not usually go free-swimming in the water, either. Most just wade around, or swim very briefly, or ... lie out in the sun! 6) Thank you for this change of heart, Chris. THIS is what defines you as a person, most.
@@HelloFromHawaii THANK YOU for being so thoughtful so as to reply to me. SO many people do not. Not replying to people, who always take the time to watch someone's content and then comment upon it, can be quite rude. You have NEVER been rude to me. You exemplify "Aloha". Mahalo 'nui for that!
@@HelloFromHawaii Thank you for being so courteous so as to reply to my posts and commentary. Many, MANY people do not care to do so, which I think is kinda rude. But, you have always exemplified the spirit of aloha in your behaviour to me.
I can understand being empathetic. I felt bad for her while she was being attacked. However, she should have known better. She was putting the seal's life at risk. If there was a cop there and she was getting mauled bad enough, the cop might have to shoot the seal. There's also several videos of people ignoring signs and distancing rules after the incident last week. They need more rules to protect these seals and enforcement of said rules. If people keep putting themselves in that situation, it's going to keep happening over and over again. Definitely need to educate tourists because maybe everyone in Hawai'i knew what happened, but there will be a brand new batch in a few days that have no idea. I will add the videos: th-cam.com/video/vWMvLLWkRRg/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/xIlvUjY1XgA/w-d-xo.html
You raise a good point. I think locals already have a distain towards tourists and that possibly puts a bias on them. It's like the policing situation. You have a couple bad apples and all of a sudden, EVERY situation is a blanketed issue where all police must be racist. The danger to blanketing every single situation is that there's a bias, so in the case of tourists and wildlife, locals will always see EVERY tourist interaction as an "intended" violation of Hawai'i law. We have to understand that not every single situation like this is because a tourist wanted to disrespect things sacred to us here in Hawaii. You gotta just know the facts of each incident or else what happens is that we will develop a distain where tourists will become mortal enemies. I'm not in favor of seeing or judging everything the same way.
People who were genuinely so upset about this situation just need to get a life and care about shit that actually matters. The average home cost in Hawaii is approaching 1.2 million dollars and the level of corruption in the local government is sky high. Why would anyone waste any energy on this monk seal story?
I bet if it was a shark she would have seen it before going for a swim. No matter where you live stuff happens. It is best to help rather than hurt. And judging is not helping.
WOW, I had no idea Monk Seals were that big, that woman looks like a baby next to that Seal. I learned my lesson about trying to pet a seal almost 40 years ago down on Fishermans Wharf. They may be cute, but they are wild animals and not to be trifled with.
If aunty is old enough to read signs and make her own decisions, she can deal with whatever consequences come from it. You would never catch me helping out someone who acts like they’re in control of nature
not sure to agree or disagree with you on this video. why was the husband filming his wife from above swimming into the territory of the mom and her pup? killer footage by the way. would like to know what kind of camera he used. can we see photos of what her bodily wounds look like after the attack? show your wounds to educate the public and tell us why your husband was filming you.
I was in Oahu 2 weeks ago with my husbands and would often see multiple turtles whenever we snorkeled. I had done a ton of research preparing for a trip and so I knew it was illegal to touch them or get too close to them. It was always crazy seeing them come so close, oftetimes we had to swim away to keep some space between them and us. But they are sucj beautiful creatures, it was always magical seeing one. We also saw monks seals sunbathing while on a hike and couldn't believe a big those were. I'm glad we didn't run into one while swimming, that would have been an absolute nightmare ha
Unfortunately when humans and the natural world come face to face this is sometimes the result. We are drawn to the natural beauty of Hawaii, and we need to respect that it comes with awe inspiring moments and occasionally some terrifying dangers. Human ignorance needs to be mitigated as much as possible in these encounters.
I came upon this video last week and wanted to know what was going on. I saw a lot of uploads of the incident from above - and it was the tourist fault. All the way. She was told to get out of the water and she would swim a few strokes - stand up and look as if she's headed back in the direction of the baby... The mom popped her but didn't try to harm her - but that woman just would not get out of the water - when the shore was literally - right there... She was the only one in the water and you could hear people on shore screaming for her to get out of the water. Even when the LG came - she still didn't get out of the water... So, the fault lays with the entitled person that should be fined.
Aloha is not conditional: timestamp 10:29. I've been grappling with this idea of the aloha spirit seemingly dying lately. Modeling behavior is really the best way to try to keep the Aloha spirit alive, especially to coexist in an environment of limited resources and to help the struggling economy thrive. But there is a real compassion fatigue, cynicism, apathy, disillusionment, and resentment brewing that I wonder is contributing to unprecedented levels of unsustainability, lending to further migration, crime, homelessness, failing infrastructure and education, etc. A public perception of a "failure to thrive" or at least early signs of it so to speak. The last straw on the camel's back at some point with boundary pushing behavior is a waiting ticking time bomb of push back. Aloha spirit in its good nature of being compassionate, empathic, and having patience can sometimes be misunderstood as passive, enabling, and permissive of bad behavior, especially if bad behavior is seen as a repeated offense over and over. Maybe on an evolutionary biological analogy: is the Aloha spirit going to survive this current environment post "asteroid" storm of the pandemic economy? Especially if "survival of the fittest" seems inherent in all human and animal behavior? Or perhaps is the Aloha spirit our cultural immune system to help de-escalate an ever growing inflammatory environment that will lead to disease and dysfunction of our culture? Mahalo always for the thought provoking and nuanced content.
Mahalo for the comment. Great question about whether the aloha spirit is going to survive the culture we're living in. I say yes, but it's going to take a lot of work by all of us.
They did help, I heard YELLING! Tell me, if that was a shark, what would you do?🤔...but anywayz, I've met some very nice tourists, most come from Canada. What I like about the tourists I've met is, they ask question once they learned I was local. I've been to several places in the mainland and believe me not all the states are the same...so me, ask a lot of questions when deciding to do a certain activity...get where I'm going!?! Don't assume that everything is honkydory just because it's "open spaces" and you have a few signs that says "warning." Some people do take chances even with warning signs. I've seen with my own eye's tourists disregarding warning signs at "blow holes" talk about "what would you do?"Sorry for this lady but don't judge other people for their actions unless you were there.
OMG. I cant believe what I'm hearing. "I don't understand what it is about local culture that people get so upset about people interacting with wild life especially those that are endangered?" What ? We need to be touchy - we need to protect and preserve and if you cant observe rules and commit to the rules, please dont come. I'm kind of cringing listening to this video, "temperamental passion" wow. Who are you? Please take this video down.
First thought on hearing the news: SMH.... "fricken dummy" Then having watched the videos and knowing that she was fully aware of the warnings and still chose to swim in their direction. Final thought : " seeee fricken dummy, that's what you get!" Im all out of empathy...Sorry, not sorry 🤷♀️. It's exhausting watching ppl be so blatantly disrespectful. Aloha brahddah for your calm, careful thoughtfulness!
i got attacked by crab, eel, squid, turtle, fish, gecko, spider, bee, bull, horse, chicken, bird, ant anybody who watched laugh. the horrifying reaction is a story to tell. wildlife is fight or die. rocky know her pup is food. she has a story of a life time.
what would this woman do if a monk seal came at her infant? smh people are clueless, and one saying “call the police” 😅 maybe she thought hpd would arrest or shoot the seal…
You use 'Ōlelo Hawai'i and do not address the level of sacredness for not only the monk seal, but all of the animals you mentioned. The righteous anger is not because we are not evolved humans who lack empathy. She is literally choosing to disregard fencing and warning signs. She also did no research as to why these animals are sacred in the first place. Then you ask why no one helped. You first. You want someone elses family memeber to intervene in a completely avoidable incident. The lack of empathy resides in the tourist. We only get one 'āina and small things left unrebuked will lead to a disfunctional ecosystem that residents will be forced to clean up. #kūkia'imauna
Great that HFH said..."eh, try wait..." and had second thoughts. I had the same one-two reaction, but my conclusions were different. If that beach is so important, why isn't it closed? Because the property owners, including the Kaimana Beach would balk, and money talks. Also, tourists can't pass on that Instagram "How adorable!" theme park moment. The woman shouldn't have been in the water period! As HFH said, an incident where something bad DOES happen. Locals protective of wildlife? Puleez! Seals and turtles often get entangled in nets and swallow plastic. Maybe these are carried by ocean currents, maybe not. Lots of examples of illegal dumping in the ocean and elsewhere by bruddahs. Watch any video about Midway and see all the homo sapiens-generated trash. Obama was shocked...
'Ae, 1st reaction, was another tourist acting stupid, doesn't think da warning signs apply to her. Next reaction little mo empathic, dats a tough way 2 learn bout mother monk seals wit baby. End reaction: a fine as a DLNR follow up would back up da signs dey put up.
It's sad that many of people have so little respect for land and animals much apologies from the mainland that most and I know I'm probably going to spell this wrong but howlees brains are moving to fast to think most don't know how to relax and not touch things animals what's new to them etc many things on Oahu are fast based kinda like LA in the ocean which may make people more inclined to do not so very thoughtful actions I miss the Oahu of the late 70s international market, few hotels magoos pizza red lion when it was laid back sorry to ramble but I miss the islands and it make me sad that people treat your home disrespectful when representing the mainland
I wonder why the laws arent enforced...When I went to Gatorland in FL, I didnt swim near the Gators...I dont wish anything bad on tourists, cuz im 1 tourist myself when I go other states or countries. Just respect the culture, the people, and the rules. I do that when I visit other places. if not, oh well, sorry not sorry. make good choices, aloha
my first reaction "why you just standing there recording the person getting attacked you na haole, come on, help um out. second reaction, why you still in the water if there is a monkseal, you foolish to stay, oh well
Should she sue the state for medical bills? Half joking. Of course no fine she was bitten and not trying to bother it. Good there was so much footage. You can’t put baby gates around the ocean. The current can take a swimmer farther than they expect. She could have started off in an area not with a sign. The real attention should be the heroes from the wildlife or life guards that got to her safely without having to harm the seals. I do think that animals assume an area to be wild with no one allowed to be anywhere these past few years. All coming to the island are basically hostages on the plane a 30 minute video on all the things to know does not seem crazy. Instead it’s ads.
@@HelloFromHawaii it’s been years sadly. It’s more about the experiences. It would probably turn off people to say after such a video to take signs about monk seals seriously. There is time for the half way to Hawaii game. To be fair when Hawaii residents come to the mainland they don’t know there is to know about 🌪. You would never see me saying they deserved it and should have known not to get in their car and leave the building.
'Ae, 2 Soaring Eagle, comment, "if u really want 2 see idiot tourists, check out Yellowstone Park." One summer while working near der, one tourist went fishing off bridge next 2 campground dat had sign, closed cuz of bears. Dis cuz food scraps from peopo not cleaning up. Guy left his cooler on picnic table, bear came fo it, guy wen lose part of his arm trying 2 get his cooler from bear 🤦🏽♀️
IMHO, you should stay away from the term “Local”, I say this because your use of “Local” creates a division, an us vs them mentality. Not all “Locals” are alike, and from some of your comments, some “Locals” act like idiots as well and I don’t want to be put in the same category. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy your work and the videos you create, but “ island style” seems like a better term. Either way keep up the good work!
Mahalo for the comment. I use the term local because it means a lot here, maybe more than anywhere else in the US. And I find the term "local" interesting because it's a changing and relatively fluid term.
@@HelloFromHawaii The term local is fluid as you say, but it's meaning differs to each of us that live on the different islands. I travel alot between the islands and the neighbor island friends look at us from Oahu differently. First, they think we're from Honolulu, but i'm not, i'm from Pearl City, maybe they're talking in terms of me being from Honolulu County? Some golf courses charge different rates, they have a Kamaaina rate, local rate, and of course non-resident, you won't see this on Oahu. My friend from Moloka'i will welcome you to their island, to fish, hunt, hang out what ever, but if you try to change anything or try to bring a different lifestyle to "their" island, you're not a local anymore, and i respect that. To me the term has changed over the years since the song "local boys" was released.
She is a 60 year old teacher from California. Her and her husband are vacationing in Hawaii for 3 weeks at the time she was attacked. In a interview she said there were about 10 other swimmers around her. I've watched about 4 or 5 different videos and she's the only one. She admitted to knowing about the endangered Hawaiian Monk seal since she watched the birth of Rockys pup. She was warned not to go swimming but chose to ignore the warning. IMHO she is guilty. Rocky was protecting her pup as any wildlife would do. Mahalo Chris 🌺 btw, if you really want to see what idiots tourists are, check out Yellowstone National Park and how the tourists insist on petting the wild bison. There are signs all over and the park rangers keep warning them not to get near and pet the bisons. And yes they do get tossed in the air by a 2 thousand pound bison.
Her husband was conveniently filming her from the condo above... Photo op!!
Mahalo for the comment. Yeah, I've seen some of those bison videos. Those animals are huge. Don't know why people want to get that close.
@@HelloFromHawaii I just struggle, especially since she's a teacher, with the "I didn't know" mentality 🤔
The Seal had just given birth to a pup?
Yup, don’t pet the fluffy cows!🦬👖
I live in the mountains. We've had a massive wave of city dwellers. They get so surprised that moose ,bears and other wild life don't act like some Disney cartoon. Then when I tell them it's their fault the bears destroyed everything. Who in the hell just leaves food laying around outside including dog food and not think that will draw hungry bears ?
I lived in Estes Park and have been yelled at for warming people about being to close to bears, moose, calving Elk. I have an extensive collection of "Tourists getting too close to wildlife" photos I took over 7 years.
Aloha My name is Sean I'm 45 from Molokai born & raised! To my understanding the Hawaiian monk seal is sacred not only because endangered mammal. But it also a aumakua to some of us Kanaka Maoli that we get mad because when like take that Kodak moment @ the beach when a seal & her calf, that fact is if you get bit or get hurt, blame yourselves! The signs are but you like niele maha'oe and no listen to everyone telling for your safety to stay away! Blame yourselves no go sue anybody for damages because the only damage that happened is your negligence! Mahalo & Aloha Sean Ellis
Mahalo for sharing. Appreciate the perspective 🤙
"Hello from Hawai'i" is such a remarkable asset to Hawai'i. We locals appreciate all you do and we are very proud to have you speak so fairly and eloquently on behalf of our environment and people. Mahalo.
Mahalo. However, I just want to note that I speak for myself. I acknowledge that there are other locals who may disagree and they are entitled to their opinion. But I appreciate the support 🤙
These past two+ years have been so unusual and I have to assume much fewer tourists around. I think that gave wildlife a needed breather from the intensity of tourists in their habitat. Now that tourists are back, I wonder if monk seals or other wildlife are going to be more territorial. When a swimmer goes into the ocean, there are risks taken, even in places that look harmless, like Waikiki.
Interesting thought. I'm sure the wildlife appreciated less visitors. The recovery at Hanauma Bay was incredible.
I was going to bring up Hanauma Bay too! Even Electric Beach had significantly more dolphin and shark activity. A lot of my freediver friends were also super judgemental but I tried to take a step back and say... What if they were an open water swimmer and didn't see them around. Eventually the husband and wife testified in front of Hawaii officials their perspective and that's pretty much exactly what happened. I'm not a local but I know tourists here are kinda ignorant. When I first got here I swam to the Mokes from Lanikai. I ended up with a Man of War in my mouth along with stings all over my arms and face. Locals were like.. Shouldn't be swimming shortly after full moon. They all over here. Gotta learn somehow. Just happy it wasn't with a monk seal... Tiger Sharks scare me less than Monk Seals
, I can’t speak for all tourist but coming from nz we are taught to respect
Our oceans and wildlife , but knowing that
The locals do not like visitors or particularly
Want us there has really put a downer on my up coming trip , (or have I just misread this video )
@@burt101welly6 It's not all locals. Most are respectful if you are respectful. Ive never had an issue. The not so mutual ones are the kind no one, local or resident alike should appreciate as It's not aloha, pono, or malama to just hate outsiders. If you're from New Zealand... From my understanding your country has a strong history of islanders. The bottom line is they don't like entitled American tourists. But if you are respectful and bring chill vibes. You're not likely to have any issues or fe unwelcome
@@Flowmada thank you we as kiwis like to think we are respectful, and do not want to disrespect anyone else’s culture , or put
Anyone out of there way, I have a trip booked next month for me and my family so am looking forward to experiencing the sights and people over there , but thank you for your comments,
This incident reminds me of something I encountered when I was still living in Hawaii about 25 years ago. A Hawaiian monk seal came ashore to rest on the beach at lagoon #4 at Ko'olina back when there was still a big dirt lot that accommodated a huge number of cars and only locals tended to use the beach there. There were lots of people surrounding the monk seal on the beach and in the water - some as close as 10 feet or less. No one was keeping 150 feet away, and I remember one little keiki wahine no more than 4 y.o. throwing sand at it. Again, these were all locals. But there was no lifeguard at the beaches out there at that time. No one to keep people away, and nobody seemed to know the proper behavior to keep the monk seal and themselves safe. I don't think I even had a cellphone yet at that time, but I didn't have any idea who to call about the situation even if I did have one. It's a miracle that no one got hurt. Long story short, we locals don't always know the correct way to behave, and I suspect that a lot of learning/education took place locally in the intervening years.
Mahalo for sharing the story. 🤙
I think it would be so good if they made people aware on the flight over of the endangered species, dangers of the ocean etc so it would hopefully cut back on some of the things we're seeing now. It can be bad for all involved.
Destination Hawaii , perfect time to educate people on the planes ✈️ flying in. The Government should fund such a program.
I think HTA has videos for visitors as they land. Not sure if it's just with Hawaiian Airlines, though.
@@HelloFromHawaii I've flown Hawaiian twice and United once. There's nothing mandatory on either airline, but both have videos available about the land and wildlife of Hawaii, and how to be respectful of those things, if you choose to watch them.
@@HelloFromHawaii yeah it would be great if they could put something together bc honestly some places have way different rules where they encourage to feed the wild animals, like the pigs at the beach in the Bahamas, etc. So, a quick, can, no can would be great for here!
They do- people tend to ignore the videos. Especially the ocean safety one.
Mahalo for the great discussion and comments on this issue. 🤙 Great to be back making videos after the family break.
Yes, did this swimmer read the warning signs, if any was placed on the beach? Before she walked into the ocean, did she not scan the area she was planning to swim in? The size of the mother, monk seal was noticeable, even from a distance?
I'm not sure what signs, if any, were posted where she entered the water.
@@HelloFromHawaii The full video does show signs and fences warning about monk seals in the area. Very gracious approach to the subject overall, and I think more people need to have a similar mindset. Overall it is a shame it happened, but not heeding to warnings about wildlife/dangerous trails/extreme surf warnings is going against common sense and only putting oneself in danger.
She was swimming in Monk Seal water.
It's a stretch of water marked as Monk Seal area.
She went *swimming*
(distance swimming; not dipping or dunking in one spot in the shallows right off the sand).
This individual went stroking-distance swimming in open water off the beach.
It is marked, signed and identified. As Monk Seal Area.
I used to go swimming for years (distance swimming) like, 100-yarders, 200 round trip.
(Me, Local born and raised before going to the Mainland - used to be North Shore, off the beach, in open water).
However I myself would never have gone into water that had been marked signed and identified as Monk Seal water.
For example, a stretch of area that was a thousand foot stretch of water that was marked as such.
(I would go swim somewhere else).
She went swimming there knowingly.
Had she been injured or even killed by the Seal (eliminating a large-bodied threat to the pup)
it would have been, unfortunately and sadly, tragically, entirely and wholly her own at-fault.
Remember, to the mother Seal (recently-given birth), there is no difference between a shark, another threat seal, or a human, which an adult human is Seal-sized, or at least a smaller yet still lethal shark.
A shark will *eat* the pup in an instant without thinking twice.
The mother Seal's biological purpose is to insure the survival of the pup (that it is not *eaten* ).
The mother Seal was doing nothing bad or wrong; on the contrary, it was doing what was good and right.
And ultimately, the swimmer did something obviously stupid and nearly got herself killed.
One last thought:
Do you guys think this swimmer will do this again (go swimming like this in that same exact place, *again* ?).
Would *you* if you had made this error?
Maybe the swimmer will answer my query.
Does she think she errored?
(Do *you* think *you* would have errored? Just something for thought).
She got into the water so she entered an area not roped off or anything. The current does carry a person.
@@kristinesharp6286 the area doesn't have a strong current. She swam where she shouldn't have and placed herself in danger. When seals enter the water, they swim wherever they choose, usually not in one spot. And when they have a young pup, do not swim out to deeper water. If the woman assumed the seal and her pup were gone because they were not on the beach, she assumed wrong. Their absence meant they were in the water and in the area where she planned to swim. That was where the woman went wrong and placed herself in danger.
Visitors here don't listen, while at a very popular beach for viewing turtles I saw like 5-7 people completly disregard the signs, warnings, and the volunteer that was there asking for space. To the snorkeling spot I frequent I've seen more and more tourist every week and every week I need to go up to them and "Be a Karen apparently" . I'm not local and I'm soon leaving the island but I 100% understand why Locals get so bothered by visitors etc, most are entitled when coming here!
According to Hawaii News Now, the couple was visiting for three weeks and the husband said that they both were aware of the warnings but did not see the monk seals on the beach. So.. why would anyone go swim in the fenced off area if they don't see the seal on the beach? It most likely meant that the monk seals were out swimming if the signs were still up. But anyways it looks like it made national news so atleast now much more visitors should be aware.
Yeah, hopefully more people are aware.
Or they had not been removed yet.
Very well thought out perspective on this situation 👏
In this situation, how can anyone help her? Swim out and try to scare the monk seal away? Potential causing the monk seal to abandon its young? There’s a barrier there for a reason and it isn’t only applied to the beach but also the water that’s directly in front of the barrier.
I'm glad some people eventually helped her. Good that there was the guy with the boat to help.
@@HelloFromHawaii yea me too but honestly nothing could be done during the attack. Only after the attack people were able to help
@@lite3857 the real heroes of the story. I do wonder if she mistook the wildlife people for beach patrol. Odd for a teacher to swim alone in the ocean without some sort of beach patrol or lifeguard.
Tourist or local, it doesn't matter. If it were a local, the harsh comments would be the same, if not worse. Warnings are in place for a reason. Whether you see the immediate danger or not, there is the potential for danger. If you choose to gamble & lose, you must take ownership for the consequences. Teachers teach their students to respect people & the land. As a mainland teacher, I've taught my little keikis to respect the ocean. I admit, I am bias to islands in my teachings, but they know to respect everything from marine life to lava rocks to picking up rubbish. I am glad she wasn't hurt badly. She definitely needs to give huge mahalo for those who helped her. No need to bash her more. Just wish her a quick recovery & hope "lesson" was learned and she'll teach others from her experience. Not all tourists are bad folks. Just have to educate them e.g. like the tourist who tried to fish at Kuhio Beach (my cuz took care of that, haha. No worries, no harm, no foul). #livealoha
My only experience with a Hawaiian monk seal was in the fall of 2000 on Kauai. My husband and I hiked the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach. I walked down to the water and was admiring the scenery until somebody yelled to me that one of the large rocks was actually a seal. One would think that such a large animal would be easy to see, but it blended with the rocks so well that I had no idea it was there. I moved away from the seal to a more respectful distance and got some lovely photos of it.
Mahalo for sharing your experience. My only encounter was at Kaena Point on Oahu. And yes, it was hard to see on the beach since we kept our distance.
you are sweet and i feel your aloha...mahalo for your report. You took the time to examine this incident, and to give a fuller perspective. I appreciate you!
Mahalo 🤙
🌴 Well said. I’m a local who hasn’t lived at home for 40 years but yes, shame on us. Think that mentality is ingrained in us. Initially we assume, tourists. 🤦🏻♀️
We’re tourists, too. We need to rethink and re-examine. Enjoy your videos. 👍🏼 But don’t play with bears, etc. 🙄 Aloha. 🌴
🤙
Brah! She was told not to go near her. Several times the lifeguards told her to get out the water. I don’t feel bad for her at all!
In my 15 1/2 years living on Kauai, I can only recall seeing one story about a human actually attacking a monk seal. It was a few years ago and happened right near where I live at Salt Pond. A nineteen year old local started punching it in such a vicious manner on the beach that the seal barely survived. In Nawiliwili park one day a monk seal had hauled out nearby. My local friends were explaining what a pidgeon like nuisance they were and talked about running it off. For the record, during my regular exercise swim, I have swam outside of marked off resting monk seals without disturbing them at all as far as I can tell. Speaking of the hypocritical blaming of tourists, an interesting thing happened at nearby Polihali state park. They reopened it during the pandemic when the island had almost no tourists. They had to close it back down because of how bad it got trashed the opening weekend. We seem to have an issue with the blowing up of toilets here. Now I know whose bored juvenile delinquents are parenting this bunch. Jus sayin. Disrespect comes from ignorance more than culture. Aloha🤙
Too many times we see tourist being stupid. Although this is a case by case type thing. Seems she did not provoke the attack, just in the wrong place, wrong time. Land area was roped off, but no "notice" in the water around the seal area. She may have started her swim further away or opposite end of Kaimana Beach. Either way, I was surprised she wasn't cited. Just as if you got in a car accident. Sure, it wasn't intended, but you were at fault and get ticketed/cited. I feel the swimmer should have been.
Mahalo for sharing 🤙
Agreed. She should have been cited.
And STILL, even AFTER this happened people got really close to Rocky and her Pup, so we have learned NOTHING!!! There was even some Stupid Father carrying their child in their arms literally Right next to Rocky and it is SOOO Disrespectful to those Beautiful Animals!!! There was Also some Ridiculous HillBilly couple who were Asked to Move away from Rocky where they were sitting and they REFUSED!! WTF!!! No Wonder Tourists are Hated by the Locals!!!
I didn't hear about the follow-up incidents, but I thought there were more locals out there to warn tourists.
As a 20+ year US Army Veteran, this is exactly what people need to hear. I visited many places in my Army career and there was one thing every place had in common. I am the visitor. I need to ask, understand, and follow the local customs, the local laws, and at times simply the local ohana ways of things in the world around us. Be respectful, be courteous, and understand that there many ways of looking at a situation. Mahalo nui loa for a great video and way of thinking!
Mahalo for the comment 🤙
Thank you for making videos with very good content.
I' m from California & have visited Hawaii 9 times the past 10 years. From the last trip in Kauai Jun '22, we felt like we were being punished from visiting Hawaii, due to local outright hostility (eg, service people showing attitudes). We are mature/respectful couple & can tell unreasonable hostility. We love HI but are considering not returning to HI for a while.... It's sad!
Warm wishes to your family.
Thank you for watching the video and sharing your experience. Sorry to hear that you felt the hostility. I hope that local/tourist relations improve as things return to normal.
Don’t feel bad. I’m a concierge on Kauai and it was REALLY HARD to give people the level of service they deserved, being short staffed and having people always mad at us for being unable to take care of them the way they expected. Some guests were awesome- as I’m sure you were, others were entitled and completely beyond rude. In my 30 years of doing this job it has never been more stressful. I feel like it’s mostly improving, so do come back!!! 💖🌺🐠🌈
Ehhh I mean, when you say your from California that's why people don't like you.
I was at the sandbar in Kaneohe last week and a turtle came by and said whussup. I watched it swim by, took awe in the moment, and then when on with my day. You are 100% correct about the accidental encounters. Just let it happen, and appreciate that it did.
Greetings from Austria! You wouldn't believe how many people go on hikes tours in the alps with sneakers/sandals or generally disregard weather warnings.
Some also think that mountain rescue is some sort of taxi service to get them home, when they are overwhelmed.
Thanks for your thoughts Chris. I love Kaimana Beach but close it off completely during the birthing months to avoid such incidents from happening again.
I’m actually surprised she swam without a life guard there. I mean would there not have been a life guard? Did she mistake the wildlife people for beach patrol?
Great suggestion.
Have you thought about Podcast? I would listen to your podcast. Your perspective are clear and balanced.
I live in AK and we get quite a bit of tourists here as well. Most times I 100% believe tourists here are innocent and unaware how quickly wildlife may spring up on them. It’s like yes, you’re in the city but also yes a bear or moose may also be walking the streets and please don’t go near them for your own safety. Most tourists think we’re kidding but no really, we’re not kidding. It’s also not common knowledge at all for those who think it’s common sense. Our schools and public media frequently teach us to respect wildlife. Sometimes locals live in a community bubble and expect others to abide with the same rules but a lot of grace needs to be given to tourists. Tourists are most times city folks who have never interacted in true nature. A man from the lower 48 actually got fine because he wanted a closer shot of a grizzly bear feeding! Like omg, isn’t that common sense not to do that!?
I wasn’t upset or angry but feared for his safety.
It’s surprising and interesting to hear that local Hawaiians instant reaction to the tourist was anger. Personally it looked like she was swimming in the ocean and somehow accidentally interacted with wildlife. It’s something I can see myself accidentally doing while visiting Hawaii too. I’d like to hear more about why local Hawaiians dislike tourists so much.
Mahalo for the comment. Yeah, I thought about a podcast, but not sure if I have the time. Maybe one day. It would be an interesting topic to go into why some locals dislike tourists.
Hi, I was wondering I you have heard anything more on the 16yo Daylenn Pua disappearance while hiking the Stairway to Heaven. This was a few years ago but I am still trying to find out anything new.
I haven't heard much about that. Sorry.
I'm going to respectfully disagree with your final conclusion. Especially since the husband was filming her.... They knew the seals were there
Mahalo. Appreciate that we can disagree.
I’m sorry but he ‘caught it’ on film. Does not mean he was filming on purpose for that particular encounter. The scenery is lovely, not odd for a tourist to take a video of the ocean from their ocean view room. Gosh the seal already attacked her. Humans are creatures too.
@@kristinesharp6286 so .. they've been there for three weeks, which is about the same time as the seal and her pup, signs everywhere, no one else in the water ... And he just happens to be filming the way who can't swim well to being with???
@@808frost3 I think the seal with physically attacked her was kinder than many commenters.
@@kristinesharp6286 I don't feel bad at all. Warning signs all around us .. keep away from seals, don't eat Tide pods, don't put a fork in the toaster, don't let the bison.
I also had similar reactions as you and changed my opinion after seeing additional footage. I'm sure there were many of us with the same thoughts.
Last year on family vacation my family wondered down at Halona Cove was taking pictures and I almost stepped on a Monk Seal , there was around 15 people in the cove and no one saw it until I did a sudden stop. It was huge and blended with the rocks. No idea it was there.
And yes everyone there was respectful and left the seal alone.
@@randyschochenmaier7805 she wasn’t trying to pet it. When she saw it she tried to swim away.
Yeah, they are kind of hard to see sometimes. Saw one at Kaena Point, but it blended in with the rocks.
I had the same thoughts and emotions running through my head. It was oddly comforting to hear someone else express them.
🤙
Local, non-local, tourist, alien or otherwise, I don't see how anyone would come to the conclusion that the swimmer did anything to provoke the seal. She had a pup with her and obviously felt threatened.
There is an enormous difference between this video and a tourist walking up and intentionally touching or harassing a sea turtle.
I'm other news, I'm in Arizona and we have a similar situation here. Tourists come to Phoenix and take over our mountains and sensitive hiking areas. Some of them do so during the summer months and meet an unfortunate outcome. When I read these stories in the news, I often (and shamefully) think - HA! That's what you get for hiking to that area in the middle of July when it's 118 degrees outside! In actuality, there could have been a legitimate medical situation or a multitude of other scenarios vs. a tourist simply being negligent or disrespectful.
The downfall of social media is you get a 30 second reel... which is just about enough time to pass judgment about a complete story we don't have all the details on. Unfortunately, I'm guilty as charged just like the rest of you.
Mahalo for sharing. I agree about the downfall of social media. It often makes us quick to judge and then we move on.
Years ago in Canada while hiking. I wdd as led in to a small cleaning to encounter a calf , cow and bull moose . I back away slowly. Later in the safety of my auto, thought how blessed I was to see these Majestic beast and not be harmed
Stop swimming near the surrounding areas of mon seals especially if there a pup. Make sure to do your research of the beach area where you want to swim prior to swimming.
I respectfully disagree.
There are literally hundrends of other beaches she could have gone to. Some only 5 minute walk from there. She choose this beach while her husband was filming from their extended stay rental overlookign the fenced off beach. Honestly sounds really suspicious.
plus she is swimming in section where no one is but several hundred feet away are a bunch of people in water. She is 60 not 5 and should know there is usually a reason people give an area some space. DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!
They knew Rocky had given birth as this beach is in front of their condo and fencing and multiple signage was up for 3 weeks. People on beach told her not to go in the water and she did anyway because she didn't "see Rocky or the pup". Proceeded to NOT to keep at least 150 feet away from them.
I also don't believe the not hearing anything. sound actually travel farther in water than air. People constantly do stuff for clout and pictures then act like they never knew when they face conscequences.
Also don't know about other airlines but Hawaiian has the education videos upon landing but I see almost everyone completely ignoring the video to play with their phones. I am too old and tired and frustrated to be okay with this level of willful ignorance on part of visitors. They DON'T WANT to know better because Hawaii is Disneyland to them.
DNLR refuses to truly enforce the rules for the most endangered mammal in the world. You know what would stop people from abusing hawaii natural environment? If State actually enforced the rules a couple times and fined people the $50,000. Until DLNR actually does their job , I guess Rocky will have to continue protecting herself. The Reason people get so upset is not just because racism or usvs them but because the knowledge that no of this sustainable. People are loving places and things to death.
Mahalo for sharing. Appreciate the comment. I just hope that others learn from the incident.
@@HelloFromHawaii I guess State and DLNR got enough flack and enough not listening cause now they having 24/7 patrol to keep people away from Rocky and her Pup for next month. 😁
Anyone with good common sense knows to keep distance from wildlife. Sea turtles come on shore to rest and be left alone and idiots come over to pet them while they rest. How would they like if someone comes over and pet them on the head when they’re sleeping in the beach getting a sun tan.
She was not all that close and trying to get away. It’s between the seal and her. Thank goodness someone helped without hurting the seal and while she was still alive.
It's unfortunate that this incident occurred, but it has gained national news. Hopefully viewers are a little more aware of following beach guidelines when visiting our islands.
If the women was a local , why did she ignore the Signs on the beach ,, Locals would be well aware of the signs ! A tourist however would not possibly not be aware of the Signs. Tourists would not exactly know about staying away from Monk Seals or Turtles. Unless they have researched stuff on TH-cam about their Hawaiian destination.
HNN says she and her husband was visiting Hawaii for three weeks. But I agree that locals wouldn't even swim to the side where the monk seal is staying. However that's more of a common sense kind of thing.
I think she was aware of the signs, though. Maybe just not aware where the seals were at the time.
My understanding of the swimmer was that she was from California and she and her husband had visited here before. They rented a condo because they stay longer than than the usual visitor. Having been to Hawaii before and staying in Waikiki, they should have known about the monk seals. Additionally, it was blasted all over the news! So unless they were under a rock, she should have known, what with all the barricades up.
On the other hand, why didn't the life guards try to stop her. If people saw her continuing to swim closer to the Kaimana Beach, someone could have intervened. The most logical person would be the lifeguards.
I feel bad that she got attacked. Maybe the hotel people could assist with informing the guests about things to watch out for. If everybody helps visitors in that way, then everybody helps the monk seals.
i have t say I came to the same conclusion that you did in the end. The swimmer clearly did not attack the seals or even intentionally cross their paths. The real issue seems to be the almost psychotic need of so many to find an enemy and hate on them! Try cleaning your own house first!
I remember the first time I saw a sea turtle while snorkeling I started to reach out and then 🤔thought came to me ? Do I want it to reach out and touch me⁉️
Solid thoughts that mirrored my own. I'm not local but all my freediver friends were super judgement and said she deserved it. I didn't really judge until hearing the testimony to Hawaii officials and it was just a situation of thinking it's okay to do something everyone else is doing until it's not okay and you're the last one to find out you're in a bad situation. No one was seriously injured and it brought awareness to respect Hawaii wild life. I choose to see positives. Tourists do dB stuff everywhere
You’re 💯 right about that knee jerk instant reaction. I felt it too and then I had to step back and read up more on the situation. Sometimes we make the snap judgements without all of the information and that’s unfair. Plus with social media shame time we need to be a little kinder and less quick to jump on people. If she DID ignore the boundaries she won’t ever do it again. Or it was an honest mistake. 🤷♀️🌺
Mahalo for the comment.
Let me know how I can get your ‘Hello from Hawaii’ t-shirt?
I haven't released these because I haven't found a printer that is reliable enough for me. But thanks for the interest.
When this event unfolded I said we didn't have enough information and people were too quick to judge. I got shouted down. I don't understand why waiting for.information before slamming a potential innocent swimmer was bad.
Would the monk seal normally attract a human ?
I'm not sure, but I think things escalated because of the pup.
1) Gosh, this attack looks harrowing, at first glance, doesn't it?
2) Chris, thank you so much for listing where all of the topics that you cover in this video are located, in case people do not want to listen to the whole video, or simply just do not have the time to listen to the whole thing.
3) Yes, it is never wise to piss off ANY Hawai'ian, or Local of the lovely islands. But, that can be said of anyone anywhere, can't it?
4) I like this critical analysis of your thought process, too, Chris. Oftentimes, things are not always what they seem to be, at first, are they?
5) I have never seen ANY tourist wear a swimming cap when in the oceans, ever. You are right about that and also that tourists do not usually go free-swimming in the water, either. Most just wade around, or swim very briefly, or ... lie out in the sun!
6) Thank you for this change of heart, Chris. THIS is what defines you as a person, most.
Thanks for numbering your responses. Made it easier to read 😁
@@HelloFromHawaii THANK YOU for being so thoughtful so as to reply to me. SO many people do not. Not replying to people, who always take the time to watch someone's content and then comment upon it, can be quite rude. You have NEVER been rude to me. You exemplify "Aloha".
Mahalo 'nui for that!
@@HelloFromHawaii Thank you for being so courteous so as to reply to my posts and commentary. Many, MANY people do not care to do so, which I think is kinda rude. But, you have always exemplified the spirit of aloha in your behaviour to me.
I can understand being empathetic. I felt bad for her while she was being attacked. However, she should have known better. She was putting the seal's life at risk. If there was a cop there and she was getting mauled bad enough, the cop might have to shoot the seal. There's also several videos of people ignoring signs and distancing rules after the incident last week. They need more rules to protect these seals and enforcement of said rules. If people keep putting themselves in that situation, it's going to keep happening over and over again. Definitely need to educate tourists because maybe everyone in Hawai'i knew what happened, but there will be a brand new batch in a few days that have no idea.
I will add the videos:
th-cam.com/video/vWMvLLWkRRg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/xIlvUjY1XgA/w-d-xo.html
Interesting thought about the police officer and if anything would have happened to the seal. Never considered that.
You raise a good point. I think locals already have a distain towards tourists and that possibly puts a bias on them. It's like the policing situation. You have a couple bad apples and all of a sudden, EVERY situation is a blanketed issue where all police must be racist. The danger to blanketing every single situation is that there's a bias, so in the case of tourists and wildlife, locals will always see EVERY tourist interaction as an "intended" violation of Hawai'i law. We have to understand that not every single situation like this is because a tourist wanted to disrespect things sacred to us here in Hawaii. You gotta just know the facts of each incident or else what happens is that we will develop a distain where tourists will become mortal enemies. I'm not in favor of seeing or judging everything the same way.
Mahalo for the comment 🤙
Can't fix stupid, if you go to La Jolla in SD there's always people getting too close to the Sea Lions.
People who were genuinely so upset about this situation just need to get a life and care about shit that actually matters. The average home cost in Hawaii is approaching 1.2 million dollars and the level of corruption in the local government is sky high. Why would anyone waste any energy on this monk seal story?
I bet if it was a shark she would have seen it before going for a swim. No matter where you live stuff happens. It is best to help rather than hurt. And judging is not helping.
Interesting thought. I remember they used to have sharks at Kaimana last year?
WOW, I had no idea Monk Seals were that big, that woman looks like a baby next to that Seal. I learned my lesson about trying to pet a seal almost 40 years ago down on Fishermans Wharf. They may be cute, but they are wild animals and not to be trifled with.
LOOK SHE IGNORED THE WARNING ⚠️ WTF 🤬
If aunty is old enough to read signs and make her own decisions, she can deal with whatever consequences come from it. You would never catch me helping out someone who acts like they’re in control of nature
Mahalo for watching the video.
not sure to agree or disagree with you on this video. why was the husband filming his wife from above swimming into the territory of the mom and her pup? killer footage by the way. would like to know what kind of camera he used. can we see photos of what her bodily wounds look like after the attack? show your wounds to educate the public and tell us why your husband was filming you.
Great questions I wish I could answer.
Well said, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching
I see a new trend of TH-cam videos showing Hawaiian people misbehaving away from home. 😆 🤣
Hopefully not too badly.
I was in Oahu 2 weeks ago with my husbands and would often see multiple turtles whenever we snorkeled. I had done a ton of research preparing for a trip and so I knew it was illegal to touch them or get too close to them. It was always crazy seeing them come so close, oftetimes we had to swim away to keep some space between them and us. But they are sucj beautiful creatures, it was always magical seeing one. We also saw monks seals sunbathing while on a hike and couldn't believe a big those were. I'm glad we didn't run into one while swimming, that would have been an absolute nightmare ha
Mahalo for sharing your experience in Hawaii. Glad you were able to see the turtles so close.
Unfortunately when humans and the natural world come face to face this is sometimes the result. We are drawn to the natural beauty of Hawaii, and we need to respect that it comes with awe inspiring moments and occasionally some terrifying dangers. Human ignorance needs to be mitigated as much as possible in these encounters.
I came upon this video last week and wanted to know what was going on. I saw a lot of uploads of the incident from above - and it was the tourist fault. All the way. She was told to get out of the water and she would swim a few strokes - stand up and look as if she's headed back in the direction of the baby... The mom popped her but didn't try to harm her - but that woman just would not get out of the water - when the shore was literally - right there... She was the only one in the water and you could hear people on shore screaming for her to get out of the water. Even when the LG came - she still didn't get out of the water... So, the fault lays with the entitled person that should be fined.
Mahalo for sharing
Aloha is not conditional: timestamp 10:29. I've been grappling with this idea of the aloha spirit seemingly dying lately. Modeling behavior is really the best way to try to keep the Aloha spirit alive, especially to coexist in an environment of limited resources and to help the struggling economy thrive. But there is a real compassion fatigue, cynicism, apathy, disillusionment, and resentment brewing that I wonder is contributing to unprecedented levels of unsustainability, lending to further migration, crime, homelessness, failing infrastructure and education, etc. A public perception of a "failure to thrive" or at least early signs of it so to speak. The last straw on the camel's back at some point with boundary pushing behavior is a waiting ticking time bomb of push back.
Aloha spirit in its good nature of being compassionate, empathic, and having patience can sometimes be misunderstood as passive, enabling, and permissive of bad behavior, especially if bad behavior is seen as a repeated offense over and over. Maybe on an evolutionary biological analogy: is the Aloha spirit going to survive this current environment post "asteroid" storm of the pandemic economy? Especially if "survival of the fittest" seems inherent in all human and animal behavior? Or perhaps is the Aloha spirit our cultural immune system to help de-escalate an ever growing inflammatory environment that will lead to disease and dysfunction of our culture?
Mahalo always for the thought provoking and nuanced content.
Mahalo for the comment. Great question about whether the aloha spirit is going to survive the culture we're living in. I say yes, but it's going to take a lot of work by all of us.
They did help, I heard YELLING! Tell me, if that was a shark, what would you do?🤔...but anywayz, I've met some very nice tourists, most come from Canada. What I like about the tourists I've met is, they ask question once they learned I was local. I've been to several places in the mainland and believe me not all the states are the same...so me, ask a lot of questions when deciding to do a certain activity...get where I'm going!?! Don't assume that everything is honkydory just because it's "open spaces" and you have a few signs that says "warning." Some people do take chances even with warning signs. I've seen with my own eye's tourists disregarding warning signs at "blow holes" talk about "what would you do?"Sorry for this lady but don't judge other people for their actions unless you were there.
OMG. I cant believe what I'm hearing. "I don't understand what it is about local culture that people get so upset about people interacting with wild life especially those that are endangered?" What ? We need to be touchy - we need to protect and preserve and if you cant observe rules and commit to the rules, please dont come. I'm kind of cringing listening to this video, "temperamental passion" wow. Who are you? Please take this video down.
Thanks for watching the video.
Uhh the seal did a stellar job at protecting herself and her pup. No way that elderly lady was gonna stand a chance.
First thought on hearing the news: SMH.... "fricken dummy"
Then having watched the videos and knowing that she was fully aware of the warnings and still chose to swim in their direction.
Final thought : " seeee fricken dummy, that's what you get!"
Im all out of empathy...Sorry, not sorry 🤷♀️. It's exhausting watching ppl be so blatantly disrespectful.
Aloha brahddah for your calm, careful thoughtfulness!
Mahalo for the comment. I understand it can be frustrating. Hopefully the incident brought more awareness to be careful in the area.
i got attacked by crab, eel, squid, turtle, fish, gecko, spider, bee, bull, horse, chicken, bird, ant anybody who watched laugh. the horrifying reaction is a story to tell. wildlife is fight or die. rocky know her pup is food. she has a story of a life time.
what would this woman do if a monk seal came at her infant? smh people are clueless, and one saying “call the police” 😅 maybe she thought hpd would arrest or shoot the seal…
You use 'Ōlelo Hawai'i and do not address the level of sacredness for not only the monk seal, but all of the animals you mentioned. The righteous anger is not because we are not evolved humans who lack empathy. She is literally choosing to disregard fencing and warning signs. She also did no research as to why these animals are sacred in the first place.
Then you ask why no one helped. You first. You want someone elses family memeber to intervene in a completely avoidable incident. The lack of empathy resides in the tourist.
We only get one 'āina and small things left unrebuked will lead to a disfunctional ecosystem that residents will be forced to clean up. #kūkia'imauna
Most of all, the ocean is their domain!!
PEOPLE HAVE TO REMEMBER THEY ARE IN THE HOME ENVIROMENT OF THESE CREATURES.
Great that HFH said..."eh, try wait..." and had second thoughts. I had the same one-two reaction, but my conclusions were different. If that beach is so important, why isn't it closed? Because the property owners, including the Kaimana Beach would balk, and money talks. Also, tourists can't pass on that Instagram "How adorable!" theme park moment. The woman shouldn't have been in the water period! As HFH said, an incident where something bad DOES happen.
Locals protective of wildlife? Puleez! Seals and turtles often get entangled in nets and swallow plastic. Maybe these are carried by ocean currents, maybe not. Lots of examples of illegal dumping in the ocean and elsewhere by bruddahs. Watch any video about Midway and see all the homo sapiens-generated trash. Obama was shocked...
Mahalo for the comment. Good point about shutting down the beach. Not sure why that hasn't happened yet. Is that a federal or state thing?
'Ae, 1st reaction, was another tourist acting stupid, doesn't think da warning signs apply to her. Next reaction little mo empathic, dats a tough way 2 learn bout mother monk seals wit baby. End reaction: a fine as a DLNR follow up would back up da signs dey put up.
It's sad that many of people have so little respect for land and animals much apologies from the mainland that most and I know I'm probably going to spell this wrong but howlees brains are moving to fast to think most don't know how to relax and not touch things animals what's new to them etc many things on Oahu are fast based kinda like LA in the ocean which may make people more inclined to do not so very thoughtful actions I miss the Oahu of the late 70s international market, few hotels magoos pizza red lion when it was laid back sorry to ramble but I miss the islands and it make me sad that people treat your home disrespectful when representing the mainland
I wonder why the laws arent enforced...When I went to Gatorland in FL, I didnt swim near the Gators...I dont wish anything bad on tourists, cuz im 1 tourist myself when I go other states or countries. Just respect the culture, the people, and the rules. I do that when I visit other places. if not, oh well, sorry not sorry. make good choices, aloha
I think they have increased life guards in the area, but I don't think law enforcement can't be at the beach all the time.
my first reaction "why you just standing there recording the person getting attacked you na haole, come on, help um out. second reaction, why you still in the water if there is a monkseal, you foolish to stay, oh well
Should she sue the state for medical bills? Half joking. Of course no fine she was bitten and not trying to bother it. Good there was so much footage. You can’t put baby gates around the ocean. The current can take a swimmer farther than they expect. She could have started off in an area not with a sign. The real attention should be the heroes from the wildlife or life guards that got to her safely without having to harm the seals. I do think that animals assume an area to be wild with no one allowed to be anywhere these past few years. All coming to the island are basically hostages on the plane a 30 minute video on all the things to know does not seem crazy. Instead it’s ads.
I haven't seen the incoming video. Is it all ads?
@@HelloFromHawaii it’s been years sadly. It’s more about the experiences. It would probably turn off people to say after such a video to take signs about monk seals seriously. There is time for the half way to Hawaii game. To be fair when Hawaii residents come to the mainland they don’t know there is to know about 🌪. You would never see me saying they deserved it and should have known not to get in their car and leave the building.
When tourist get what they deserve
HAWAIIAN MOTTO IN THE 70’s & 80’s was:
LEND A HAND TO CLEAN OUR LAND
She saw the sign what the officials put up nstill went in. She was wrong. No respect!!!
'Ae, 2 Soaring Eagle, comment, "if u really want 2 see idiot tourists, check out Yellowstone Park." One summer while working near der, one tourist went fishing off bridge next 2 campground dat had sign, closed cuz of bears. Dis cuz food scraps from peopo not cleaning up. Guy left his cooler on picnic table, bear came fo it, guy wen lose part of his arm trying 2 get his cooler from bear 🤦🏽♀️
IMHO, you should stay away from the term “Local”, I say this because your use of “Local” creates a division, an us vs them mentality. Not all “Locals” are alike, and from some of your comments, some “Locals” act like idiots as well and I don’t want to be put in the same category. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy your work and the videos you create, but “ island style” seems like a better term. Either way keep up the good work!
Mahalo for the comment. I use the term local because it means a lot here, maybe more than anywhere else in the US. And I find the term "local" interesting because it's a changing and relatively fluid term.
@@HelloFromHawaii The term local is fluid as you say, but it's meaning differs to each of us that live on the different islands. I travel alot between the islands and the neighbor island friends look at us from Oahu differently. First, they think we're from Honolulu, but i'm not, i'm from Pearl City, maybe they're talking in terms of me being from Honolulu County? Some golf courses charge different rates, they have a Kamaaina rate, local rate, and of course non-resident, you won't see this on Oahu. My friend from Moloka'i will welcome you to their island, to fish, hunt, hang out what ever, but if you try to change anything or try to bring a different lifestyle to "their" island, you're not a local anymore, and i respect that. To me the term has changed over the years since the song "local boys" was released.
I’m on the monk seals side 💓😇
👍🏿
🤙
Get rid of the tourist geesh
Too much talking?
Thanks for watching
hamalalakissdababy
North Shore. Our memory...Swimming with turtle poop.
Kinda funny locals don't react to mano attacks li'dat...