HONOLULU, Dec.

Same toxin known to affect humans now identified for the first time in a marine mammal species.

Scientists say a baby monk seal named KP2 is getting too big to play with children on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. The endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal has become something of a celebrity since he first showed up earlier this year on Kaunakakai Wharf, where children and local boogie boarders swim and play with the pup, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Wende Goo, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the 17-month-old seal pup now weighs 175 pounds and may start playing too rough with swimmers. We've had experiences before where a 300-pound animal is just looking to play and then starts holding people underwater for too long.

The federal government is set to make a substantial expansion of the critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals to include beaches and waters of the main Hawaiian Islands on Friday.

Today, the National Marine Fisheries Service declared the Caribbean monk seal to be officially extinct. Once hunted as food and for their oil, the loss of this species is a reminder of the stress that humans put on fragile ocean animal populations.