The Marine Mammal Center and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced last week that three-year-old female RM28 passed away at Ke Kai Ola, the “Monk Seal Hospital,” in Kailua-Kona. They suspect she died from injuries due to severe shark bite trauma.
“Our team is deeply saddened to report the loss of RM28, especially knowing that this three-year-old seal could have played an important role to further boost the population of this endangered species,” said Dr. Sophie Whoriskey, the Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Veterinarian at Ke Kai Ola, in a statement.
RM28 was a well-known seal around Kauai. Born to RK28 in 2020, last year, RM28 ranked tenth on the list of most reported seals, indicating she liked to haul out at beaches where she was seen–and reported–by beach-goers. The year before, in 2021, she ranked fourth. In her short life, she made news on these pages–for hauling out in the keiki pool in Poipu, triggering her displacement on several occasions. And for an unusual fishing entanglement in June of last year. She hadn’t ingested a fish hook. Nor lodged the hook in her jaw. No, she’d somehow gotten the hook embedded into the external side of her neck. The response team was easily able to free her from the hook. In 2021, when RM28 was eight months old, she was reported with a round chunk of flesh missing above her left fore flipper. The wound was what remained after a cookiecutter shark latched onto her, swiveled, and took off with a plug of her flesh. That wound quickly healed. Unlike, sadly, those from another shark earlier this year.
The statement on RM28’s death from the Marine Mammal Center went on to report:
During the seal’s initial critical care period, Center experts stabilized the animal and began treating RM28 for extensive and severe wounds consistent with shark bite trauma. During the admission exam, the Center confirmed NOAA’s initial assessment and diagnosed the patient with severe shark bite trauma. The Center’s experts noted the animal was in poor body condition, administered antibiotics and pain medication, and also took a series of blood samples and swabs for further analysis. Despite the team’s best efforts, RM28 died in treatment on January 16.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, was performed the next day to determine the cause of death. After a thorough necropsy exam, Center experts suspect that RM28 likely died directly from the severe trauma or due to complications associated with the trauma. The Center’s team is awaiting bloodwork diagnostics to determine whether the seal also had any underlying health complications. No other immediate findings of significance aside from the trauma and poor state of condition were found during the necropsy exam.
After displaying lethargic behavior, RM28 was rescued in a shallow cove off the Kauaʻi coast on January 11 by NOAA’s trained experts with assistance from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources. NOAA received reports of RM28 appearing to be in poor condition the previous day. The animal was immediately brought to a DLNR facility on Kauaʻi for initial assessment and triage care. NOAA experts diagnosed the seal with severe wounds consistent with shark bite trauma and noted the animal was in poor condition.
RM28 was airlifted and transferred into the Center’s care at Ke Kai Ola via the U.S. Coast Guard for further rehabilitation on January 12. This action was taken after NOAA experts determined the animal needed long-term rehabilitative care and had stabilized enough for transport.
“Thanks to the numerous reports from concerned residents about this seal’s injuries, we were able to respond quickly and determine that RM28 needed veterinary care. She was a well-known seal on the beaches of Kauaʻi, and we are saddened by this loss.” said Jamie Thomton, NOAA Fisheries’ Kauaʻi Response Coordinator.
Although shark attacks are not uncommon, negative human interaction, fisheries interaction via hooking and entanglements, and diseases like toxoplasmosis are the main threats the endangered Hawaiian monk seal population faces on the main Hawaiian Islands.
As the only partner organization permitted by NOAA to treat and rehabilitate Hawaiian monk seals, The Marine Mammal Center is proud that nearly 30 percent of monk seals that are alive today are due to conservation efforts led by NOAA and partners like the Center.
Since 2014, the Center has rehabilitated and released 37 monk seals, most of which have been rescued from and returned to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as part of the Center’s partnership with NOAA Fisheries, utilizing resources in the area to identify seals in need, rescue and rehabilitate them, and give them a second chance at life.
Kaua'i Seals 