Logged seal sightings:
September: 222
August: 230
July: 414
June: 356
May: 263
Photo credit: M. Miyashiro.
On September 21, some fishermen contacted DOCARE (Hawaii state Dept. of Conservation and Resources Enforcement), because a loose dog had attacked a small monk seal. An officer immediately responded, found the dog’s owner, and issued a citation. Our Kauai Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui team found the seal, one of this year’s weaners, with multiple puncture wounds. The following day RH92 was given antibiotics and, thankfully, resights of her show the small punctures did not become infected and have healed.
Vaccinating Seals:
Since June, Hawaiian monk seal coordinators have been vaccinating Kauai seals against morbillivirus, a disease that causes measles in humans and distemper in dogs. To protect our rare Hawaiian monk seals, the first ever vaccination of wild seals has been initiated, as epidemics of this deadly virus have devastated other seal species populations around the world. Our goal was to vaccinate 20 seals on Kauai, focusing only on males and juveniles. Studies have not been conducted on possible side-effects the vaccine may have on a developing fetus, so sexually mature females were excluded. We were successful, with the valuable aid of many volunteers assisting to find seals, to fully vaccinate 19 seals! The program is now on hold as the vaccines have expired and the manufacturer is not currently producing more. We are in discussion with the company and hope to continue vaccination efforts in the near future.
Hookings:
On Oahu, two seals were hooked this month. On Rabbit Island a yearling seal was sedated to remove an external hook from its mouth. The other seal, a large adult male had ingested a hook, so he was captured, and the hook was surgically removed. He is recovering well in captive care. Amazingly, this is the 2nd time this male seal has had a hook surgically removed from his stomach!
In Other Marine Mammals News:
Photo credit: Julie Steelman.
Hawai`i Island : In September, a large male false killer whale (FKW) was found live stranded on the south end of the Big Island. This endangered Hawaiian insular FKW died shortly afterwards and the Hawaii team lead by Tom Elliot organized to pull this very large heavy whale out of the surf and onto the beach to collect the carcass for necropsy.
Oahu: On September 17, a lone melon-headed whale calf was found swimming in Kailua Bay, Oahu. The calf, approximately 5 1/2 feet long, was likely still associated with its mother and from visual assessment showed signs of malnutrition. After careful consideration of all factors related to the case at hand and previous cases, it was determined that any rescue intervention would not be successful. To read the full story click here.
Turtles, Turtles, Turtles:
Photo credit: NOAA
This summer there has been an increase in the numbers of green sea turtles coming to rest on Kauai’s beaches. Visitors and volunteers have reported seeing up to 12 turtles on the Poipu beach, resting at night and departing at dawn. Many of these sea turtles also feed on the seaweed “limu” on the shallow rocks and may come ashore to bask on the beaches during the day. While sea turtles are not our primary concern, we do want to prevent these threatened turtles from being disturbed and to help the life guards to instruct visitors to give turtles respectful space to rest and forage.
Monk Seal Recovery News:
The Toxoplasmosis and At-large Cat Technical Working Group met October 7 to review technical findings on the impacts of toxoplasmosis on wildlife and methods to disseminate accurate information to the public. To learn more about toxoplasmosis, please read this article from Honolulu Magazine and this one from Smithsonian.com.
Kaua'i Seals 