Fields Notes: February 2011

Aloha, from the Kauai Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui!

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.