Habitat: The Hawaiian monk seal likes to swim in subtropical waters that are warm. They spend about two-thirds of their life at sea and only go ashore to rest, molt, give birth, and nurse their young. They tend to choose a secluded shore that is surrounded by shallow waters and sandy beaches to give birth.

Diet: Monk seals are known to be "generalist" feeders, which means they will eat what is readily available to them. They eat common fishes, squid, eel, octopus, crab, shrimp, and lobster. They like things that are easier to catch, so they do not try and catch popular game fish in Hawaii.

Behavior: They are mostly solitary mammals, which means they prefer to stay alone. They sometimes lie in small groups on shore, but not really close enough to touch one another.

Predators: There are many sharks, also known as an apex consumer, that like to feed on the Hawaiian monk seals, witch is one of the reasons why they are endangered. The sharks that feed on them are tiger sharks, grey reef and white-tipped reef sharks, great white sharks, and Galapagos sharks. Male monk seals have also shown aggression toward female seals and their young, so in some cases they could cause a fatality.

Impact on ecosystem: If the Hawaiian monk seal were to go extinct, then the ecosystem in Hawaii would have an environmental disturbance. The monk seal helps reduce the population of crustaceans, such as crabs, lobster, and shrimp. Without them reducing the population, the waters would experience exponential growth in the crustacean population.