KAILUA — After more than 25 days, Chester the Hawaiian monk seal remains at Kailua Beach as his body transitions from scruffy old fur to a sleeker coat.

Since arriving at Kalama Beach Park on New Year's Day the teenage male has been undergoing his annual molt. While the process is taking him longer than other monk seals, that's normal for Chester, said David Schofield, marine mammal response coordinator for the National Ocean & Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service Pacific Island Region.

Chester's molt is expected to be done next week.

It's about 90 percent completed, and this week Chester went fishing for the first time since the process began, Schofield said, adding that the seal is healthy and beginning to put on some weight after losing as much as 100 pounds.

Known mostly to frequent the 'Ewa Beach/Barbers Point shores, the 400-pound mammal caused quite a stir in Kailua, attracting crowds of spectators during the winter school break.

"It's very rare for him to be on the Kailua side, but he was with a female on the Marine Corps base prior to him coming to Kailua," Schofield said. "He may have been cruising chicks. We think he was seeking out a mating opportunity."

Since Chester "hauled out" on the beach, volunteers have watched over him 24/7, making sure the seal, an endangered species, is protected from dog attacks and curious people. Schofield said these volunteers have done more than they were called on to do, staying all night when they were just asked to watch during the day.

"We have pockets of people and all real good people, but the people of Kailua just came together and did the right thing," he said, adding that they came for varied reasons, including cultural and environmental.

The vigil has been exhilirating but lasted longer than expected and is becoming more demanding for the eight people who showed up on a regular basis, said Donna Festa, a real estate associate and Kailua resident. Still she comes every day and enjoys the time spent at the beach educating the public, seeing them respond positively and meeting her neighbors.

"I've had the time of my life," said Festa, 49. "If I could afford to I'd do this forever."

Festa said volunteering has given her a sense of community and purpose. Beachlot residents have helped, offering drink, food and a place to park. People come by every day to check on the seal and one young girl gave her a drawing of the seal and herself. The thoughtful gesture has made a lasting impression, she said.

"With the state of the world right now you feel helpless or hopeless, like my vote doesn't matter or I'm just one person," Fester said. "There's something empowering here. Just by my being out here I may make a difference for this one seal."

There is a downside to the job, she said. Most beachgoers feel the same sense of community and have responded well, but a few people can't see the good that is being done for the seal, Fester said.

"I've been yelled at and people accuse us of being on a power trip," she said. "I had people flip me off. I'm just asking people to be respectful and some people just don't want to be."

But Festa isn't discouraged by those individuals and figures they are "unhappy people."

Few people milled around the animal yesterday as he rested under overcast sky and chilling wind. The yellow caution tape marked his domain and walkers and joggers steered clear. People with dogs would leash their animals when approaching the monk seal and then release them after passing by.

Judie Gross, a Kailua resident for 12 years, said she checks on the seal during her routine daily walk and has watched his fur transition from a dried-up brown mat to a sleek silver-gray.

Gross said surfer friends recognize the monk seal as one that likes to swim around the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai.

"They say he's pretty aggressive," she said. "They don't like him."

But having the monk seal around has been an event — and when Chester first arrived, the beach was a circus because students were out of school, Gross said, adding that she's learned a lot from the volunteers, who were always willing to share their knowledge of the seals.

"If nothing else, it helped educate a lot of people about them," she said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.