Some seals go about seal life quietly, silently slipping out of the sea and galumphing up the beach at such remote sites that few humans ever lay eyes on them.
Then, there’s RN02. He tends to haul out at beaches heavily populated with humans, and when he does, he announces his arrival. Loudly. It’s like he’s charging down a football field and providing his own play-by-play at the same time. No color commentator or sportscaster necessary.
In November, RN02’s behavior was no different when it came time for his annual molt. He chose a busy south shore beach, and he made sure everyone knew he was there—barking at humans, other seals, and even turtles who got too close.
Hawaiian monk seals spend about two-thirds of their life in water. They spend so much time in water that algae often grows on their fur. About once a year, Hawaiian monk seals undergo a “catastrophic molt” in which they shed the top layer of their skin and fur. They can go from looking green and dirty too sleek and shiny in about a week to 10 days, rarely leaving the beach to forage. Basically, they set up camp.
RN02 arrived on October 28th, looking dirty and chomping on what might have been his last major meal for a few weeks—an octopus.
The first week he spent on the beach, he showed signs of illness—sneezy, running eyes, diarrhea. Diarrhea that was, by the way, red in color, likely the result of some crustaceans or other yummy fish he’d recently eaten. Maybe the octopus. But he also showed signs of “pre-molt” behavior.
Then, on November 7th, volunteers confirmed RN02 was, indeed, beginning to molt.
RN02 first started making a splash in 2013 on Hawaii Island where he was born. There are few Hawaiian monk seals found on Hawaii Island. As we witness on Kauai, after weaning, many young seals tend to hang out together, tumbling along the shoreline and interacting in a manner we humans might consider as rough. For RN02, there were no other young seals around Hawaii Island after his mother weaned him.
So, it wasn’t long before RN02 was repeatedly reported to be roughhousing in the water with humans—and it wasn’t appreciated by the humans. It was dangerous. Before he could injure seriously someone, RN02 was translocated to Niihau.
Within a couple years, RN02 turned up on Kauai and has turned into a regular south shore seal. At first, he was people curious, pursuing swimmers and following people up the beach. He hauled out on a boat ramp, undeterred by the steams of snorkelers and divers walking past him to enter and exit the water.
On several occasions, RN02 was intentionally displaced (by trained staff) when he was found hauled out in disconcerting locations like this and others.
Once, he was sighted with marine debris entangled around his neck. However, he was able to escape its trap on his own.
In February 2017, RN02 was reported to have blood near his mouth. That turned out to be a small fish hook with about six inches of monofilament fishing line along his gum. Eventually, the hook and line fell out on its own.
Eventually, RN02’s interest in humans abated. Now, he runs with a few other adolescent males, sometimes causing the same ruckus in near-shore waters that he generated on Hawaii Island. Only this time, he’s rough-housing with other mammals more closely related to him.
RN02 completed his molt on November 14th. Throughout, his antics can be summed up by this one report from one volunteer: “Still cranky and vocalizing a lot at folks who are not remotely close to him—all over the beach, up to bushes, down to the water with sideways in between for some variety.”
RN02 now has his shiny new coat; however, that’s not stopped notorious ways. On November 29th, he was hauled out and sleeping when an umbrella got away from a beachgoer, blowing down the beach and hitting RN02. He didn’t like that too much. He flushed for the water and hauled out elsewhere.
There’s no doubt RN02 will continue to generate stories—and we hope for a good, long time to come.
Here are some photos of one of the more interesting monk seal molts of 2019.
Pre-Molt. PC: Thomton.
November 9th. PC: Honnert.
November 10th. PC: Megonnell.
November 11th. PC: Honnert.
November 12th. PC: Honnert.
November 12th. PC: Honnert.
November 13th. PC: Megonnell.
November 13th. PC: Megonnell.
