NOAA scientists have a message for beach-goers: if you see a monk seal resting on the beach, don’t stop and take a selfie with it.

In a recent study, officials used social media to monitor human activities around endangered Hawaiian monk seals. They found nearly 18-percent of posts with the hashtag “monk seal” suggested a human disturbed the seal.

Experts say being so close to a seal is not only dangerous to the person, it also puts the animal at risk. The Hawaiian monk seal is protected under the Endangered Species Act and state law. There are only about 1400 left in the wild.