I get back to the Bowls yesterday afternoon. Right then, a baby seal came up to the beach. There were tourists surrounding it trying to get photos. I immediately told them to move back and stay away from it. One told me “well, it came up to me so it’s not my fault.” Another said “it’s ok. seals like us humans.” Another said “it’s ok, it’s only a seal.” I said “hey, we have rules in Hawaii and it’s illegal to go near a seal so get away!” Then another tourist started to complain to me about being so sensitive because all they wanted was a photo. Then I got mad. I said “if you don’t want to respect our culture, go back to where you came from!” Opps, I thought I was going to get “cancelled,” until a couple locals came up to me and said thank you for saying that.
20 minutes later, that same baby seal swam up right to us, smiled, and swam away. In my mind, I said to it, “Sorry for the ignorant tourists earlier. Why can’t they understand that they are supposed to stay 150 feet or 50 meters away from you? You know you’re an endangered species and are federally protected right? You know there is a $50,000 fine with up to 5 years in prison if they touched you right?
Sorry for venting. Last week in Waikiki, a tourist jumped on a baby humpback whales back and tried to ride it. I still can’t believe that happened. Maybe I’m getting old, but I don’t like tourist who travel to other countries and show such disrespect. That’s just not right.
