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| | The Ocean Conservancy: Hawaiian Monk Seals |
 | | Monk seals are classified as true seals, as opposed to fur seals or sea lions, since they have no external ears and use their hind flippers for propulsion and front flippers as stabilizers. |
 | | Hawaiian monk seals live mainly in the remote northwestern Hawaiian Island chain, including six major breeding locations: Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysan Island, and French Frigate Shoals. |
 | | Due to ocean currents converging near the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, fishing debris from thousands of miles away is often deposited there, creating a significant threat to the monk seals' recovery. |
| www.oceanconservancy.org /site/PageServer?pagename=fw_monkseal (504 words) |
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