NOAA scientists said Chester had no signs that he was caught by fish hooks or nets and he had no other signs of trauma. They think he may have died from disease but they may not know for sure for months.

In January, Chester spent a month on Kailua beach shedding his coat. During that time he grew in popularity as volunteers made sure people and dogs left him alone. Those volunteers spent the morning calling each other with the bad news.

"The loss is deep it's really heartfelt. For me personally I feel as if I've lost a dear friend but the other side of that is that I think I received a very special gift," said Donna Festa, a NOAA Volunteer.

Chester was found on Rabbit Island Wednesday afternoon.

A team of veterinarians and biologists performed a necropsy, which is an autopsy for animals. They found some organ damage and think he may have died from disease.

"We collected tissue samples and we will send them around the country, and in some cases out of the country so we can find out the reason for this animal perishing," said David Schofield, Marine Mammal Response Coordinator with NOAA Fisheries.

NOAA is going to such extremes to find the exact cause because it could help determine if there is some greater problem that is affecting the monk seal ecosystem and population, which is dwindling. Fewer than 100 monk seals are left in Hawaii and only 1,200 survive worldwide.

"When people lose loved ones, I'm not making light of that but it really feels like that it really feels like we lost someone near and dear to us. It's been very emotional," said Festa.

Sure Chester was a wild animal but he got celebrity type status from a lot of people out here in Kailua and those that did get to know him hope he lives on through awareness for his species.

"He had a very big impact to us and the best we can do for these animals is to continue to educate people of their plight because they are worth saving," said Festa.

"This seal raised a lot of public awareness to help build our volunteer networks here on Oahu and we're very disappointed and sad by the loss of this animal," said Schofield.

Scientists said monk seals usually live to be about 25 to 30 years old. They think Chester was in his mid teens.

NOAA is looking for more volunteers to help them count monk seals in Hawaii on April 19.

If you're interested in helping go to the National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Region.

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