Photo credit: Miyashiro

RK13 (adult female, skin lesions since 2008, blind left eye, recent shark bites and canal-resting behavior) is doing really well; she is healed up and moving normally!

Photo credit: Miyashiro.

RK54 (juvenile male, born at Larsen’s in 2011 to RK22) hauled out in the Aliomanu area on 1/11 with a large ulua hook in the left side of his mouth, with a trailing leader and fish head attached.  We had a successful de-hooking, and a great training/learning experience for staff and volunteers.   RK54 was observed on 1/21 with blood on his nose/muzzle.   Possibilities include that (1) he was hooked again on the nose and removed the hook himself, (2) he had an infection or illness causing him to bleed from the nose, or (3) some other injury occurred to the area.  He has since been observed by volunteers and DLNR staff; his appearance and behavior have returned to normal, but we are still monitoring him closely.  What a month for this little guy!

RK56 (juvenile male, too curious about humans last Fall) has been frequently seen over the past few weeks at Kalapaki Bay.  Observers note that he has not sought out any human interaction, and it has been endearing to see how the local folks who regularly picnic in the area have taken to protecting him.

Photo credit: Steciuk.

On 1/20, a memorial for male seal TT40 was led by one of Kauai’s kupuna at Maha’ulepu Beach, one of the seal’s regular haul-out locations.  It was a beautiful day.  The event was attended by several volunteers, NOAA staff, and a television film crew.   Kupuna  opened with a chant to clear the path for TT40, then the attendees spent some time individually remembering the interesting and enchanting seal that he was.  Kupuna shared another chant celebrating TT40’s long life, and all those

Photo credit: Steciuk.

present had the opportunity to return some of his ashes to the ocean. The members of the film crew, from ABC’s “Born to Explore”, were very respectful and grateful to be able to share part of TT40’s story with the world.  This segment was one of many; the show will also highlight research and response efforts to conserve the Hawaiian monk seal.

Photo credit: Michele Bane

We have had several reports of seals swimming up into canals on the east shore over the past few weeks.  In particular, RK13 has been observed “logging” 
(resting at the surface of the water) in a canal near the Kapa’a Library.  Both 
freshwater activity (and the health hazards presented therein) and logging 
are behaviors of concern for Hawaiian monk seals.  Please be sure to report 
both immediately, so that our staff can respond and observe the behavior(s) 
in person.

RK13 is of special concern, and we are monitoring her very closely.  She 
has two new injuries (first observed 12/7), consistent with shark bites.  One is near her left 
foreflipper, which she did not appear to be using for the first couple of weeks.  The other is on the underside of her 
right side.   Neither wound is life-threatening, they are not very deep, 
and both are showing quite a bit of healing progress.   She began hauling out on sand again in Kapaa town on 
12/11, but has also continued to visit canals.  She rests peacefully in the Kapaa Library canal, but had a rough day in the canal near the Bull Shed 
restaurant on 12/13.  The canal was a couple of feet deep when she entered 
it early in the day, but by afternoon it was down to a few inches of water. 
RK13 galumphed all the way up the canal behind the Safeway shopping center, 
and struggled to get out of the sludgy mud.  It was awful to watch, but 
handling her would have been more stressful and likely less successful than 
letting her work her way through.  She did figure it out, and worked her way slowly (lots of rest breaks!) back to the ocean.  Since then, she has 
hauled out on sand in Kapaa, Anahola and Moloaa, and also spent a few 
more days in the Kapaa Library Canal.  She is using her left foreflipper normally 
again, starting on Christmas Eve!  Thanks for that holiday gift, RK13!

RK30 (adult female, entanglement scar around neck and large scar on side), 
interestingly enough, was observed in two different Kapaa canals on 
12/29.  Careful 
not to get these two ladies confused!

Photo credit: Michele Bane

Another two seals who have flipped the switch on us are RK56 (weaner male, exhibiting curiosity toward humans in November) and RK52 (weaner female, 
born at Larsen’s, April 2011)!  RK56 was most recently seen today at Nukoli’i on the east shore, and RK52 has been observed twice in 
Hanalei.  Careful not to assume identity on these little seals – they’re on the move!  RK52 
has been hauling up very high and looking for trouble; last week she hauled out under a plastic chair, and the next day under a wire fence!  Thankfully, 
she was not entangled.

RB24 (subadult female who lost weight earlier this year) continues to look improved!  Her body condition is back to normal.

R313 (adult female, formerly Temp V23) received a new “V23” bleach mark 
while PIFSC’s Mark Sullivan was on island visiting.  Thanks, Mark!   R313 has been observed from Larsen’s to Ke’e.

At sunset on Christmas Eve, we received a report of a seal entangled in a net in the rocks behind the Beach House restaurant in Lawai.   The entanglement
turned out to be a false alarm; the juvenile tagged seal was just investigating the lay-gillnet in the water.   DoCARE reports that any net is illegal if it is either (1) left unattended, or (2) still set after sunset.  This net was both, so law enforcement is working to identify the net and remove it.

On 12/28, at sunset again, we had another report of a lay-gillnet set about 50 yards down the beach from a hauled-out seal, this time at Ke’e 
Beach.  One of our volunteers was present and spoke with the fishers, but they left the net in place.  Luckily, R313 (adult female bleached V23) did not get entangled. 
We saw her hauled out nearby the next day.

Photo credit: M. Miyashiro

RA20 (juvenile female born at Larsen’s in 2009, a.k.a. “Momona”, rarely 
seen) has been observed on the south and east shores recently!  She is 
clearly not accustomed to being near humans; she is very sensitive, and was disturbed off of the Courtyard Marriott beach twice yesterday by beachgoers walking past her too closely.

TT40

Special thanks to all of the volunteers and members of the public who helped to carry TT40 from the beach.  Thanks to our whole necropsy team too – our veterinarian, PIFSC scientist, PIRO response coordinators, and volunteers!  Finally, thanks to everyone who helped take care of TT40 throughout his long life.

We have not determined TT40′s cause of death, but it appeared to be a result of his age.  We may learn more from the pathology results.   He will be cremated and returned to the ocean.

Photo credit: S. Johnson

RK54, the male weaned seal born at North Larsen’s in April of this year, had a plastic ring around his muzzle on October 11, preventing him from eating normally.   Our team was able to remove the ring and check the muzzle for injuries.  Thanks to our volunteers and members of the public who helped with this important response – go team!!

We have had several sightings of T21M, an adult male seal from

Photo credit: D. Lee

Laysan in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  He was relocated to the main Hawaiian islands in 1994, and was recently flipper tagged 7GY/7GZ and fitted with a cell phone tag on Oahu.  He was most recently seen at Lawai Kai in the National Tropical Botanical Gardens!

Photo credit: M. Miyashiro

RB14 (four-year-old female) and RA16 (two-year-old male) had a molting party on the east side again this year!  RA16 has now successfully molted.

RK56 (weaner male, born at Miloli’i in May 2011 to RK30) has been very curious with humans in shallow water for the past week at Ke’e Beach, at the end of the road on the north shore.  He has been observed following snorkelers, and checking out children face-to-face in the very shallow water.  This is dangerous behavior for RK56 and for the people near him.  As a newly weaned seal, he is curious and nonaggressive.  However, if humans reinforce this behavior (with food or play), he will begin to expect and demand the reinforcement, and could become aggressive to those who don’t behave the way he expects them to.  Also, as he grows, he will become larger and stronger; and hormonal changes will cause him to exhibit new behaviors that will certainly be dangerous to his human playmates. We would like to monitor RK56 very closely. If you see him please report it to our Kauai Monk Seal Sighting Hotline at 808-651-7668, keep your distance, and encourage others to do the same.

RK13 (flipper tags 5AA/5AB) is an adult female with a chronic lesion on her rump.  RK13 has had a “lump” since 2008, but it has recently swelled, likely become infected, burst, and begun to slough. We are prepared to send a team to sample and medicate her, but presently the lesion seems to be subsiding on its own.  This, combined with the possibility that she is pregnant, warrant the need to evaluate very carefully before handling her.   For now, we are closely monitoring the progress of the lesion.  If you see her, please report her to the hotline, photograph her full body and the lesion, and email photos the same day to 
kauaiseals@gmail.com.

UPDATE to Field Report: August/September 2011

Juvenile male seal RT12was seen on August 30 with a small hook in the skin of his belly, between his umbilicus and his

Photo credit: M. Bane

penile opening.  At that time, the hook had a red transparent lure and about 3 feet of fine monofilament attached.  He was observed a few days later with only a few inches of line remaining. He has now been seen several times with no hook or line!

B24. Photo credit: Mary Miyashiro.

Four-year-old female RB24 is showing marked improvement!  She was given an antibiotic injection on August 4, and her gradual weight-gain was almost immediately apparent.  It is unclear whether the de-worming, the antibiotics, or a natural recovery from her sudden decline is to credit for her improvement; but regardless, it’s a relief to see it!

Weaned seal RK56 (born in May to mom RK30) has been regularly seen between Ke’e and Ha’ena Beach Parks.  He finally made the trek from his natal beach, Miloli’i on the Napali Coast!  The two weaned seals born in April have also left their birthplace to explore nearby Aliomanu and Anahola.

K30. Photo credit: Mary Miyashiro.

Two of our 2011 mother seals, RK22 and RK30, successfully molted in August.  Hawaiian monk seals go through a “catastrophic molt” once per year, losing their entire outer layer of fur and skin.  This is a physically stressful time for the seals, and they often stay on the beach for up to a week during their molt.   Female seals molt as part of their reproductive cycle.  After weaning a pup, they “super-forage” to fatten back up, and then molt before mating and carrying the next year’s pup.

RB24. Photo credit: Mary Miyashiro

Sub-adult female RB24 continues to be of concern.  Her condition has neither visibly improved nor worsened.  On July 13, PIFSC scientists returned to Kauai to get a full suite of biomedical samples from her, and to change out her larger cell phone tag for a smaller satellite tag.  She was also given a de-worming medication to help maximize her nutrition intake by lessening her parasite load.  Great work by our east-side volunteer team, who collected a fecal sample from her the following week – this will allow us to see if the medication is working!

W02. Credit: Mary Miyashiro.

The same day, three-year old male RW02received a cell phone tag, so

that we can track his movements and dive behavior to better understand his habitat use.

R315. Photo credit: Michele Bane

Adult female R315 (formerly known as Temp 365, mother of RA16) has been seen at least twice recently, looking very pregnant!  Since she did not pup last year, her due date is anyone’s guess.  She has been spotted on the northeast shore, and previously pupped at Larsen’s, so we may very well be looking forward to another pup event there!

A new unknown subadult female seal was spotted in the Anahola area earlier this week with a mysterious mark on her belly.  We would very much like to lay eyes on this seal again, in person, to determine whether this is a natural mark, an injury, or a foreign body.  If you see her, please photograph and report her to our hotline (808-651-7668) right away, so that we can come to the site to observe her.

Photo credit: Lloyd Miyashiro.

Photo credit: Mary Werthwine

On June 13, juvenile male seal RA36 was reported with a decaying water bottle stuck to his face!  Luckily, the bottle was open at both ends, so RA36 could breathe, but he could not eat or use his whiskers.  Our team mobilized immediately to try to remove the bottle, and RA36 ended up dislodging it himself by knocking his head on our rescue equipment and causing the bottle to pop off!

June brought the PIFSC Monk Seal Research team to Kauai!  Their goals were to apply flipper tags to our newly weaned pups, to apply cell phone tags to more seals, and to conduct health assessments on a couple seals of concern.  They succeeded on all fronts!

Photo credit: Lloyd Miyashiro

Our first 2011 Kauai pup’s new permanent ID number is RK54.  His brand-new tags read K54 and K55.  The second pup is female RK52, with tags reading K52 and K53.  RK52 is plumper than RK54, and is seen here exploring her own Seal Protection Zone!  When the weaned pups received their tags, they were also measured and given pit tags (like your pets’ microchips.)

Adult male RK36, with flipper tags 4DI/4DJ, was fitted with a cell phone tag.   We use the cell phone tags to monitor habitat use, dives and foraging behavior!

The PIFSC team got to take a good look at our aging male seal TT40.  While his advanced age seems to be causing his body’s normal processes (like molting) to slow down, our vets and scientists agree that he looks great for his age.

We also assessed the health of subadult female RB24, who has been observed to be losing body condition (i.e., getting thinner).  The cause of her weight loss has not yet been determined, but results of her blood samples, tissue samples and de-worming medication should help us learn more.

At the end of June, we rode out to Miloli’i to flipper-tag our third Kauai pup of the year.  This little male’s permanent number is RK56, and his tags say K56 and K57.  Special thanks to PIFSC and DLNR’s Department of Boating and Ocean Recreation for making this tagging trip possible!

(Photo credit: Langley)

It’s pup season!  Kauai is now home to three brand-new Hawaiian monk seals!

Our first pup of the year was born to RK22, a female known for abandoning two of her previous pups.  This time around, RK22 was a very good seal mom!  She was protective of her pup and successfully nursed HIM for 34 days!  That’s right, PK1 (Pup Kauai #1 of the year) is a BOY!   If his early life is any indication, he will be a very strong seal!  RK22 took PK1 out past the reef, into open water several times when he was only three weeks old.  This is very unusual behavior – scientists and managers were in suspense waiting to see if he would return safely – but he did, every time!

The second Kauai pup of the year was born to RH58, a female who usually lives on Oahu, but returns to Kauai to give birth each year.  PK2 is a GIRL!  She was born just a few yards away from RK22 and PK1, and is quite a bit larger than PK1, even though she is two days younger.

Both of these pups have already been weaned.  Hawaiian monk seal moms only stay with their pups for 5-7 weeks.  After that, it’s up to the pup to learn how to be a seal!

The time between weaning and one year of age is the most vulnerable time in a young seal’s life.   This is the time when the animal either learns how to be a wild seal, or learns something else.  Newly weaned seals are very curious, and are often seen “socializing” with rocks, logs and coconuts, as well as other nearby seals.   If people approach a young seal at this age, it is very possible for the seal to become habituated to humans, and even conditioned to approach his greatest threats, including boats, nets, and other fishing gear.  If you see a young seal, or ANY marine mammal, it is important to stay far enough away to avoid changing the animal’s natural behavior.

Kauai’s third pup was born to RK30, a very distinctive female seal with extensive scars.  She has one entanglement scar around her neck, and a large scar on her left side of unknown origin.  RK30’s pup was born on a very remote beach, and we have not yet determined its gender.

Out in the field this month, we’ve been watching out for our newest addition, Temp V15.  She is a juvenile female who was first seen on Kauai at the end of February.  She can be identified by her small size and her bleach mark, “V15”.  She was seen frequently at Mahau’lepu throughout March and observed for remarkable weight loss.  She has not been sighted since March 23, so she is a seal of concern. If you see her, please call our hotline at 651-7668, and take lots of pictures!

We continue to keep a close eye on our oldest male, TT40.  He can be identified by his flipper tags, which read 5AH (right flipper) and 2AQ (left flipper).  He has been slowly molting throughout March.  Instead of exhibiting the typical behavior of hauling out for 5-7 consecutive days to complete his molt, TT40 has been moving regularly between Shipwrecks and Salt Ponds beaches while molting.

RK14. (Photo credit: Sterling.)

New and unusual observations for this month include the resighting of a seal not seen since 2006!  RK14 is an adult female that regularly hauls out on the north shore, particularly at the rocky inaccessible cove of Kilauea Point.  She is unusual because she only has three teats, instead of the regular four (thus she was once called “triple nipple”)!  RK14 also has a bleach mark on her head and a black scar on the left side of her face.

For a funny story, we received a late call from the police department when visitors came home to their vacation rental at Lawai Road and found a seal in their swimming pool!  Fortunately for R6FQ, it was an easy exit over surrounding lava rocks from the salt water pool.  This little juvenile seal who found “a super-sized tide pool” was abruptly scared away by the alarmed visitors!

Another Lawai sighting for many days was RK12, affectionately known as “Maha’ulepu mom,” who often hauls out on the small beach there.  This month, though, she was reported and observed by many floating or resting for long hours in the shallow waters off shore.  She was checked as best as possible for wounds, but nothing was found, and after five days of this behavior, she left on the 29th.  Please keep an eye out for her, as she has not been resighted and we are still concerned about her condition, since this extended “logging” behavior is unusual.

V28. (Photo credit: Langley)

We are sorry to report that we lost our aging male seal Temp V28 this month.  When seals pass away, it makes for some of our most difficult workdays here for  the Hui.  However, these are usually also incredible learning experiences.  Such is the case with Temp V28.  He first appeared on Kauai last summer, exhibiting a nonfunctional eye and other signs of age, but excellent body condition (weight.)  He continued to look healthy throughout winter, but suffered a neck injury that coincided with his yearly molt at the end of February this year.  He rapidly lost weight, and was closely monitored by our Kauai team and our regional veterinary and science teams.  He seemed to improve for a few days, but unfortunately died on March 25.   Veterinarians and scientists immediately came together to conduct a necropsy, which is an exam designed to learn as much as possible from an animal’s death.   We found many signs of age in Temp V28, and we also found some identifying marks!  Using x-rays, we located a pit tag (microchip), which had been implanted in Temp V28’s pelvic region.  We also noted scars on the webbing of his rear flippers that indicate he once had flipper tags!   Scanning the pit tag, we were able to identify this seal as TK49, a 26-year old seal from Laysan, one of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands!   He was last identified in 1994 on the Big Island!   Temp V28 (or TK49) was a very interesting seal; he hauled out in unusual locations around the island, and allowed for education and outreach to a number of local communities who don’t see seals very often!

K30. (Photo credit: Lee)

Keeping the circle of life going are our pregnant female seals.  RK30, R316, and RK22 are all looking quite pregnant – hopefully we have healthy pups in our near future!  Pup events are a great time to learn about seals and get started as a volunteer.  If you are interested in pup-sitting, or volunteering with us in general, see our “Volunteer” tab for more information.

We are still on the lookout for RA00, “Kaikoa”, a juvenile seal who will be two years old this March. She has not been sighted since February 6. She can be identified with her rear flipper tags, which are red with white letters/numbers A00 (left flipper) and A01 (right flipper), and by her bleach mark, V22. If you see Kaikoa, please call the Kauai monk seal hotline at 808-651-7668, so we can assess her health further.

UnkAM

We had a sighting on February 26 of an unknown adult male seal with a large slice across the ventral neck (throat) at Donkey Beach.  The wound is 
healing, and there is a possibility that this is the injured seal 
photographed on Niihau a couple of months ago.  Please keep your eyes out 
for him, report immediately, and photograph the wound if you can.

V15

We have discovered a new seal at Mahaulepu!  She is a juvenile female, probably a bit over a year old.  Mimi has bleached her V15, and she has been sighted several times since she was first seen on February 23.

V014

The juvenile male bleached V014 has moved on to Oahu!  He received his flipper tags there; he is now R5EW, with tags 5EW/5EX.

RK22

RK22 (flipper tags 6FD/6FH) appears to be pregnant.  Recall that RK22 is the mother of KP2 and another abandoned pup.   We are not sure whether she has learned to be a good mom over the past two years.  She has appeared pregnant, disappeared, and reappeared not-pregnant for two years in a row.

Please keep a close eye out for her and/or any lone pups!!  PIFSC estimates that she could pup in early May, but since we don’t know her pupping history for the past two years, this is a vague estimate.

R316

We also have a VERY large, pregnant-looking seal on the north shore, who has yet to be identified.