Endangered seal population rises

The population of Hawaiian monk seals - one of the world's most critically endangered marine mammals - has been increasing 3 percent a year for the past three years, federal wildlife officials said.

There are now about 1,400 of the seals in the wild, said Charles Littnan, lead scientist of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"This is phenomenal, hopeful news for the population," Littnan said on Tuesday. "Yet we have a long way to go to recovery."