A Hawaiian Monk Seal named Chester (named for the scar on its chest) hauled up onto a Windward Oahu beach Jan. 1, 2008.

Two weeks later it had not gone back into the water. Not to hunt for fish. Not even to cool off.

Chester, however, is not sick or dying. Chester is molting.

"The animal will physically shed its skin and fur, so if you watch him long enough, when he scratches you'll see big clumps ... come off his body. This is important. All seal species will shed their fur and skin, and it's to rejuvenate and renew that insulated and protective barriers that seals have," said David Schofield, a marine mammal response coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA does not want us to disclose Chester's exact location. Too many visitors could disrupt the molting process.

Monk seals are an endangered species. They rarely haul up on the beach where Chester's been for two weeks. In fact, Chester is often spotted in the water off Ewa Beach but not on the Windward side.

There have been fewer sightings of Hawaiian Monk Seals as their population has dropped.

There are believed to be only about 100 monk seals living in the main Hawaiian islands. Another 1,000 (estimate) live in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Volunteers are giving up their free time to stand guard over Chester. They ask people to leash their dogs and answer questions for curious beach goers.

"People will ask, is it dead? Is it sick. How do you know it's not sick. And I think they associate it with a dolphin or a whale. Do we need to push it back into the water," Donna Festa told KGMB9.

Festa said she did not know too much about monk seals before Chester arrived. Since then she has learned a lot and grown to like her role as Chester's protector.

"You get up in the morning and you can come down to the beach and actually see this," Festa said motioning toward Chester. "And unless we keep that and protect that, it could very easily go away."

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