the hawaiian monk seal, as the name suggests, lives solely in the hawaiian archipelago. monk seals migrated to hawaii between 4–11 mya through an open-water passage between north and south america called the central american seaway. the isthmus of panama closed the seaway 3 mya. the species may have evolved in the pacific or atlantic, but in either case, came to hawaii long before the first polynesians. when monk seals are not hunting or eating, they generally bask on the beaches; hawaiian monk seals tend to bask on sandy beaches and volcanic rock of the northwest hawaiian islands.