Happy Summer from the Kauai Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui!
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!
