This is not a crime scene. The fella in the picture is not dead (I saw him heave a sigh of irritation at me and other tourists taking pictures of him from afar). He’s in a food coma after the very big meal he had the night before. The poor guy is an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal who likes to be alone except in mating season. Part of the reason his kind are few is that tourists used to get up close to them when they’d hang out on the beach, causing them to escape back into the water with full bellies and get eaten by sharks.
So, now, whenever security guards or beach front hotel staff spot a seal early in the morning, they cordon off a large area for the seals to relax in the sun until they’re good and ready to go back into the water.
P.S. I’ve updated the trivia post below, if you’d like to see it.
that’s so cool! i wish someone would do the same for me – i need naps after eating too!
OK i love this. LOVE seals, sort of fancy a monk or two, and also, i love the way the guards scrabble to cordon them off! hahaha