State officials Monday said they will not fine a woman whose close encounter with an endangered Hawaiian monk seal mother left her with injuries Sunday morning in Waikiki.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said the woman, 60, is an elementary school teacher visiting from California and was in “the wrong place at the wrong time” but did nothing to provoke the incident.

She was injured while swimming about 150 feet off of Kaimana Beach at about 8:30 a.m. by Hawaiian monk seal RH58, known to most as Rocky, who recently gave birth to pup PO8. Numerous witnesses saw — and some recorded — the incident.

In a video provided to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, she is seen swimming parallel to shore when Rocky approaches from behind and lunges at her while bystanders can be heard yelling at her to get out of the water. She tries to swim away, with Rocky in pursuit.

The scene unfolds near the roped-off section of the beach, where signs have been posted to warn beachgoers to keep a distance from the nursing monk seal and her pup.

Eventually, a man paddling in an outrigger canoe comes to her rescue and helps her to shore, where two bystanders carry her out of the water.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services responded and said the woman suffered superficial lacerations to her right cheekbone and left shoulder. She was treated and taken to a nearby hospital.

In an interview with DLNR on Monday, the woman and her husband, whom DLNR did not name to protect their privacy, recounted what happened.

According to DLNR in a news release, the woman said the encounter was a “terrifying experience.” DLNR officials also said she told them she cares a lot about the environment and wildlife.

Her husband, who provided his own video to DLNR, said that on Sunday morning the seals were at the far end of the beach near the dilapidated Natatorium.

Ocean Safety lifeguards were not in their tower yet, he said, and 10 swimmers, including his wife, went into the water with no seals visible on the beach or in the ocean. He videotaped the scene from their nearby 12th-floor condominium.

His wife was swimming near the Natatorium when both mom and pup appeared to be heading back to the beach but then began swimming toward her. He said his wife had her head in the water with a swimming cap on and could not hear people screaming at her to get out of the water.

He said they wanted to find out who the good Samaritans were to thank them.

“We’ve been in Hawaii for three weeks and saw the pup at Kaimana immediately after it was born,” he said in the DLNR news release. “We’ve read all the safe viewing signs and abide by them. These seals swam up behind her and she was not aware of them. In addition to her (Rocky’s) state of agitation from being separated from her pup, I believe all of the commotion on the beach likely added to her frustration.”

Critics responding to DLNR’s Facebook post, however, said the woman should not have been swimming at Kaimana with Rocky and her pup nearby.

DLNR said it is not a violation of the law to enter the ocean even if there are signs about monk seals, and there is no provision in state law to close access to the ocean.

Rocky gave birth to her 14th pup, PO8, on July 9 at Kaimana Beach, where she also birthed a pup in 2017.

Although she usually gives birth to her pups on Kauai, where she herself was born, she surprised wildlife officials in 2017 by giving birth at Kaimana Beach, a popular area fronting the Kaimana Beach Hotel in Waikiki.

Fortunately, there were no human injuries resulting from monk seal interactions that year, but officials relocated the pup — now nicknamed Kaimana — to a more remote location after she was weaned, to minimize human interactions.

In 2021 a different monk seal, Kaiwi, also gave birth to a pup at Kaimana Beach, without incident.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has advised the public to remain at least 150 feet from Hawaiian monk seal mothers and pups on land and in the water.

“We and partners continue to strongly urge swimmers and beach goers to stay at least 150 feet away from mother seals with pups,” said NOAA Fisheries in a statement Monday. “While monk seals are generally not aggressive, mother seals can be very protective of their pups and have inflicted serious wounds on nearby swimmers.”

NOAA continued, “Mother seals can move incredibly fast in the water, and we urge people to consider using alternate areas for water activities when mothers with pups are in the area.”

In December 2009 a mother monk seal attacked a 28-year-old woman snorkeling in the Poipu area of Kauai, according to DLNR.

The woman, who was visiting from Washington state, bled profusely where the seal clamped down, said Earl Miyamoto, a retired DLNR staffer who responded to the incident. She would eventually discover that she suffered a fractured skull and required pins for the broken bones in her hand.

Volunteers had talked to the woman before she swam out, he said, warning her that the mother seal and pup were nearby.

Miyamoto relayed the story to warn swimmers, snorkelers and paddlers to stay out of the water in 2021, when Kaiwi was with her pup at Kaimana Beach.

Hawaiian monk seals are an endangered species, with only about 1,500 animals remaining in the wild. They are protected by state and federal laws, and harassing or harming a monk seal is considered a Class C felony.

Wildlife officials have not hesitated in recent years to issue fines to unwitting visitors who have been captured on camera slapping or touching the endangered seals while they were resting on shorelines in Hawaii.

Volunteers from NOAA’s nonprofit partner, Hawaii Marine Animal Response, have been monitoring Rocky and her pup and providing educational outreach to the public.

NOAA said the mom-and-pup pair are expected to remain at Kaimana Beach for the next four to five weeks.