State lawmakers are considering a proposal to designate the Hawaiian Monk Seal as the official state mammal.

Hawaii already has an official state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapuaa. It has an official state flower, the yellow hibiscus. The Nene is the official state bird. There is even an official state dirt. It is called Hilo Soil.

So what about a state mammal?

"I think it's a great idea and I think it's long overdue. We should have a state mammal. Now, we have restricted choices," said Ken Redman, director of the Honolulu Zoo.

You can cross the humpback whale off the list. It is already designated the official marine mammal of Hawaii. But what about the Hawaiian Hoary Bat? The bat and the monk seal are the only two mammals endemic to Hawaii.

"I think the monk seal, if I had to pick one ... simply because it's a wonderful ambassador. It's diurnal. You can see it in the day time. The bat comes out at night and few people see them," said Linda Krieger, a Hawaii resident who went to Waikiki to see a monk seal that had hauled up onto the beach.

That is a no vote on the bat. But how about the mongoose or feral pig?

"I think the pig and the mongoose were brought in by somebody else. They are not indigenous to the state of Hawaii. I think the Hawaiian Seal, it was here before all of us came. So that should be the mammal," said Danny Hyun, who was also at Waikiki Beach Wednesday.

"The Hawaiian monk seal is Endemic to the Hawaiian islands. It's endangered, like the Hawaiian way of life. And it reminds us better than any other animal I can think of to malama kai, take care for the sea ... love and take care of the sea. So by making it the state mammal we'd be reminding ourselves that we have a responsibility to preserve what's wonderful about Hawaii," Krieger added.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supports the monk seal proposal.

It hopes designating the monk seal as the official state mammal will increase awareness of the seal's plight and help in the recovery of a species that, right now, in is critically endangered

"The humpback whale is doing well, but it's still endangered. It's increasing by about 7 percent per year. The Hawaiian Monk Seal is diminishing by 4 percent per year. We really need to foster that same public public engenderment of the animal to help recover it. The Hawaiian Monk Seals are here all year round. They've been in the Hawaiian island chain, we think, for about 13 million years," added David Schofield, Marine Mammal Response Coordinator for NOAA.

The House committee on Water, Land, and Ocean Resources and Hawaiian Affairs will discuss the monk seal/marine mammal proposal Friday, Feb. 8, during a hearing that begins at 8:30 a.m. in room 312 at the State Capitol.