Sea turtles have lived on our planet for over 150 million years. Of the seven species of sea turtles, the most commonly viewed around Kauai is the Pacific Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) or honu. Though still a threatened species, the population of green sea turtles has gradually increased.

Virtually unchanged for 15 million years, Hawaiian monk seals are considered nature's living fossils. Their tropical seal cousins, the Caribbean and Mediterranean monk seals, have disappeared in the past century. Hawaiian monk seals number about 1200 with less than 40 within the main islands.

Like the Dalmatians that ride fire engines, the pantropical spotted dolphins that frolic along Hawaiian coastlines are born without spots. The unusual markings develop as the dolphins get older. Evidence suggests that these marine mammals were once four-legged land creatures that evolved into the ocean through millions of years of natural selection.