Sandy beaches. Vehicular traffic. Endangered species.

Drawn to the New Year’s Day sunrise, thousands of kamaaina and visitors made a pilgrimage to our beautiful Ka Iwi Coast. The morning also brought a visit from our country’s most endangered mammal — the Hawaiian monk seal. This was truly a special gift on the first day of 2018 for the many people I watched come upon “Right Spot,” one of the endangered monk seals who come on shore to rest along our east and south shore beaches. Camouflaged by the dry sand on her coat and deeply snug in a fresh tire track depression, several people, like myself, nearly tripped over this sleeping beauty.

This day, Right Spot selected her resting place on the sandy portion of Erma Beach where some vehicles drive in the deep sand between Sandy and Alan Davis beaches. I reported the location to the Hawaii Marine Animal Response hotline then settled in for the day concerned for the monk seal’s safety. Two buddies eventually joined me. After seeing how close a vehicle drove near Right Spot, they created a makeshift barrier from stakes and yellow plastic bags they had in their trucks — my heroes.

As we kept watch over Right Spot throughout the day, we interacted with individuals thrilled to see the Hawaiian monk seal. Awed, the great majority respected the wild animal and kept a distance, some gently shepherded to a safe distance by our volunteer team. We quieted a barking dog by petting him so the endangered monk seal wouldn’t be disturbed while his owner took pictures.

We shared that only 1,400 of these mammals remain in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with 300 making our islands their home. We discussed their endangered species status and federal protections that can lead to $25,000 fines and even imprisonment. Everyone we talked with — or communicated through via hand motions because of language barriers — seemed to have the same desire to respect, yet enjoy, Right Spot in her natural habitat.

Throughout the morning, I considered approaching a few of the drivers to point out Right Spot, but wasn’t certain of their reaction. Would they have been surprised to know a monk seal was laying in the tire tracks and be appreciative someone alerted them? Could this have led to them reconsidering driving on the beach in the future? Had they hit her, I imagine the strictest fines would be imposed under the federal protection law.

There’s accessible and generous off-road parking along Erma’s without driving on the sandy portion. And, a dirt road runs parallel between Kalanianaole Highway and the sandy area for access between the numerous parking areas.

It would be wonderful to begin a dialogue with all users of the coastline to see if we could amicably agree to drive and park on the hard-packed areas of the coastline, leaving this short sandy stretch completely accessible and safe for seals — and fishermen, divers, surfers, beachcombers, families, star-gazers and sunrise viewers.

We concluded our New Year’s Day monk-seal watch hours later when Right Spot waddled and flopped out of the tire tracks toward the water’s edge, safe from vehicular traffic.

Our serendipitous encounter with one of Hawaii’s natural treasures provided a special start to this new year — a reminder that in Hawaii, even endangered creatures can show up in unexpected places to the respect and delight of us all. In return for this gift, I urge all of us to work together expeditiously to ensure Hawaiian monk seals can come to shore without the threat of vehicular interference along this coastline.

Lynn Kenton, of Hawaii Kai, is a public relations professional and mother.