The federal government is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for killing a Hawaiian monk seal in April on Kaua'i.

The 5-year-old male was found shot to death on a remote beach near Kaumakani.

The reward was announced yesterday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement.

Special Agent William Pickering says the killing is a violation of federal law, as well as a crime against residents of Hawai'i.

Hawaiian monk seals are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Their population is estimated at 1,200.

It is illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect any species or wildlife on the endangered species list.