For the past two years, a very large seal with the flipper tags B00 has made her way across the archipelago to give birth where she herself was born to the well-known RH58, a.k.a. Rocky, in 2007. This is RB00. She was sighted as recently as last week on Hawaii Island. Her predicted due date is two days away–Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
Last year, RB00 gave birth on Kauai’s north shore to a monk seal still known as PK1 and who is also bleach-marked V00. No flipper-tags have yet been applied to PK1 due to COVID restrictions; however, she should be tagged soon. She is predictably found at her north shore birth beach and has a preference for hauling out very high on the beach tucked into vegetation, often completely hidden from view.
The year before, in 2019, RB00 gave birth to RL08. Because RB00 tends to pack on the pounds during her pregnancy, she can often nurse for a few days or even weeks longer than other female monk seals. RL08 continues to thrive and is much larger than most two-year-olds, thanks to the head-start his mom gave him from two extra weeks of nursing (54 days total) when he was a pup. RL08 is most commonly seen on the north and east shores of Kauai and was sighted 47 different times in 2020.
In 2018, RB00 gave birth on Lanai. In 2016, she delivered a stillborn pup on Maui. So there’s really no telling where she’ll decide to pup this year–Hawaii Island, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai. With this long-distance swimmer, all are possibilities.
To read more about RB00, click here.
Kaua'i Seals 