Field Report: January 2023

The Kauai team logged 252 seal sightings this month (239 in Dec, 243 in Nov, 277 in Oct, 400 in Sept, 320 in Aug). This included 34 individually identified seals.

New:

·       Juvenile female RM28 reported logging in shallow water along Aliomanu Road South, Anahola bay. Underwater GoPro video revealed major wounds on neck, head, and flippers that were likely caused by a large shark and were life threatening. A Kauai team herded the seal into shallow water and into a transport cage for captive care. Staff administered antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and pain meds, and subcutaneous fluids while holding overnight until USCG transport to KKO was possible. The seal died after 5 days of care due to the severity of the injuries.

·       Flipper tagged a new Niihau juvenile female as R3CP.

·       As many as 8 monk seals have been hauling out/socializing/fighting at Poipu Beach Park most days, and most of the seals are adult males. This is typical spring behavior at Poipu and continues to be a challenge for the volunteer team to manage.

·       Adult male RK58, who was rehabbed at KKO for dog bite injuries in 2021, was harassed and chased off Poipu beach by an off-leash dog. No contact was made and the seal left quickly. Volunteers talked to the owner and explained leash laws.

Updates:

·       R2XW dehooked previous month has fully recovered.

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Field Report: December 2022

The Kauai team logged 239 seal sightings this month (243 in Nov, 277 in Oct, 400 in Sept, 320 in Aug, 311 in July). This included 31 individually identified seals.

New:

·       Juvenile female R2XW was found hooked with ulua gear and trailing pigtail swivel/mono leader. Leader was trimmed, however 3 weeks later the hook rotated into mouth and around mandible. The seal was captured at Glass Beach and held overnight at the DLNR baseyard until Gregg Levine and Claudia Cedillo arrived the following morning to assist with sedation and successful hook removal. The seal was released at Glass Beach shortly after dehooking and has been resighted in good health several times since.

Updates:

·       Juvenile RP32 has completed his molt and recovered body condition. We had been monitoring his thin body condition for several months.

Molting: 5 seals molted this past month.

Bleach Marking: 4 seals were bleach marked.

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Monk Seal Monday #181: Top Ten in 2022

Here’s another recap for 2021. This list identifies the top ten Hawaiian monk seals “reported” on Kauai during 2022. “Reported” seals are those that were called in—and identified—to the Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui hotline. (See a monk seal on the beach? Report it to 808-651-7668.)

However, what’s not included in this list are mom/pup reports. Because “pup watches” by dedicated volunteers tend to elevate pup “reported” numbers and because moms spend the first four to six weeks of their pups’ lives right by their sides, the reports of the mom/pup days are not included.

Keep in mind, other things affect this list. Monk seals often have favorite locations where they haul out. If a monk seal favors a location that happens to be easily accessible by humans, bingo, that seal will be reported more often to the hotline. Molting monk seals get reported more often, too. As well, young monk seals are often sighted and reported more, too, because they tend to hang around and make themselves noticed;-) Lastly, volunteers impact this number, too. Those dedicated volunteers who regularly scout certain beaches for monk seals (thank you very much) will also help inflate a certain seal’s confirmed reports.

Take a look at the Top Ten list for 2022:

1. RF28: 108 confirmed sightings. Born in 2014 to R028 (who died of toxo after valiant try by veterinarians to treat and save her). Bottom lip scar left side. Most telling ID: Natural bleach mark over left shoulder. left tag gone. Bottom right tag broken.
   
2. RK58: 104 confirmed sightings. Born on 7/16 in 2018 to RH58. Pup switch resulted in abandonment at 19 days age. Raised at Ke Kai Ola. Released from captivity on 2/11/2019. Returned to Ke Kai Ola for rehab 2/16/21 due to infected dog bites.
   
3. RG58: 97 confirmed sightings. Born 2015 to RH58. Natural bleach above tail, line scar left rear. One of our biggest males.
   
4. TempV11: 74 confirmed sightings. Subadult male/ bleached marked Feb. 2022 because too few scars to ID. Became a regular at Poipu in spring 2022. Pit scar mid back, scar left neck.
   
5. R371: 70 confirmed sightings. Niihau female w/pup 2017.  Large shark bite right rump and in front right fore flipper, natural bleach mark on top of head, pit scar base of left fore flipper, hook scar left corner of mouth, cookie cutter right shoulder, crescent flap scar belly. Likes to hang out at Mahaulepu and Shipwrecks.
   
6. RM36: 68 confirmed sightings. Nice big sub-abult female. Tagged 4/21/2021. Pup of RB00; born 3/15/2020. Cookie cutter scar on right shoulder.
   
7. R2XW: 67 confirmed sightings. Very small juvenile female from Niihau. Tagged 4/5/2021 at Glass Beach Eleele. 88 cm auxiliary girth. 
   
8. RQ52: 56 confirmed sightings. Born to R400 at Polihale on 6/25/2022. Nursed for 38 days. Translocated to safer location after weaning. Eventually, she moved back to the west side.
   
9. R7AA: 54 confirmed sightings. New small Niihau female seal to Kauai 6/2017. Monitored for back abscess, caught and treated and tagged 9/2017. Over the years she has demonstrated unique behavior when molting—moves high up the beach at night and onto resort furniture, parking lots and streets, so must be closely monitored.
   
10. RM28: 51 confirmed sightings. Born to RK28 in 2020. De-hooked in June 2022. Also involved in displacements at Poipu keiki pool.

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Field Report: July 2022

Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 311 seal sightings this month. This included 25 individually identified seals.

• July: 311
• June: 283
• May: 248
• April: 294
• March: 292
• February: 233
• January: 233
• December: 267
• November: 168
• October: 229
• September: 251
• August: 213
• July: 286

New:

·       An adult seal was sighted at Kauapea (a.k.a. Secrets) with a heavy line trailing from the mouth. The seal was chased off by an off-leash dog before staff arrived. The seal’s ID is unknown and no further reports of a hooked seal have been received.

Updates:

·       RM28 – dehooked in June has been resighted several times and the external hook injury has fully healed.

·       RP28 – hooked and trailing line. Hook non-life threatening in right corner of the mouth. Removed leader with metal swivel with seat belt cutter mounted on a pole. Will monitor RP28. Anticipate hook will come out on its own. Seal has not been resighted to confirm if hook is still present.

·       Pup translocation: female pup PK2 who was born at a remote location on the west side to R400 was immediately translocated to the north shore after weaning. The pup was tagged RK52 (Q52/Q53 tags) and is thriving in her new location, socializing with many other seals in the area.

·       PK1 was flipper tagged as RQ60 (Q60/Q61 tags) and has remained near her natal beach. The pup’s girth was an impressive 130 cm, which is on the large size. And standard length was 152 cm, nearly a foot longer than the average pup.

·       The severely mobbed seal temp614 was last sighted on July 7.

Molting: 3 seals molted this past month. 

Displacements from Poipu Keiki Pool: R2XW subadult female – 1 time

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Field Report: January 2022

Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 233 seal sightings this month. This included 29 individually identified seals.

• January: 233
• December: 267
• November: 168
• October: 229
• September: 251
• August: 213
• July: 286
• June: 218
• May: 209
• April: 155
• March: 137
• February: 119
• January: 125

New:

·       Several seals have large fresh cookie cutter shark bites in critical locations. The team is closely monitoring these seals as their wounds are healing.

·       Received reports of two more incidents of large pit bulls chasing seals into the water at Maha’ulepu. No observed contact was made in either case.

Updates:

·       No seals have been sighted with injuries of abscesses consistent with the dog attack report we received last month. Here is the previous report: A large dog attacked an unknown seal at Tunnels (Makua) Beach. The public reported the attack to the hotline, and the owner of the dog self-reported to DOCARE. The dog accidentally got away from the owner and attacked the seal, biting and holding onto the seal as the seal entered the water. The dog did not release and was pulled underwater until the owner got into the water and pulled the dog off the seal. The dog sustained minor bite injuries. It is unknown if the seal was injured. Based on conversations with the dog owner, the seal was likely 200-300 pounds and a subadult or adult. The owner provided vet vaccination records to DOCARE and expressed significant remorse; therefore no citation was issued by DOCARE, just a verbal warning.

·       The Juvenile female R2XW completed a protracted molt at Glass Beach near Hanapepe and has recovered body condition.

PROGRAM

Volunteers

·       Currently, volunteers are dispatched for hauled out monk seal reports to post signs, assess and ID the seal, collect routine data, and then depart the area. Outreach/education should be as minimal as possible to reduce COVID exposure risk. For busy locations, a spot check schedule will be established. This technique has proven effective and will continue until further notice. 

·       Per state rules, all DLNR volunteers are required to be vaccinated.

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Monk Seal Monday #155: Top Ten in 2021.

One more recap for 2021. Here you’ll find the top ten Hawaiian monk seals “reported” on Kauai during 2021. “Reported” seals are those that were called in—and identified—to the Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui hotline. (See a monk seal on the beach? Report it to 808-651-7668.)

However, what’s not included in this list are pups born in 2021. That’s because regular “pup watches” by dedicated volunteers tend to skew pup “reported” numbers. And because moms spend the first four to six weeks of their pups’ lives right by their sides, they’re also not included in this list–at least, their time with their pups is not included. Because you’ll see our number one reported seal was RK28, a mom, and 105 of her reported sightings did not include days with her pup KP3.

So, here’s the Top Ten list for 2021:

1. RK28 – 105 reports
2. RM36 – 70 reports
3. R2XW – 61 reports
4. RM28 – 50 reports
5. Temp606 – 42 reports
6. R353 – 40 reports
7. RG58 – 38 reports
8. temp607 – 37 reports
9. RL08 – 36 reports
10. R1KY – 36 reports

This list is quite different from last year. To compare years, click here. To learn more about each of these seals, scroll down until you find their permanent ID number under the “categories” column on the right and click on their ID. That will return a list of all the previous mentions of them on this website.

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Field Report: November 2021

Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 168 seal sightings this month. This included 24 individually identified seals.

• November: 168
• October: 229
• September: 251
• August: 213
• July: 286
• June: 218
• May: 209
• April: 155
• March: 137
• February: 119
• January: 125
• December: 119
• November: 133

New:

·       Juvenile female R2XW was displaced from the Poipu keiki pool, per the Poipu Management Plan. Adult female RK90 was also displaced from the keiki pool on a separate day.

Updates:

·       Nothing to report.

Morbillivirus Vaccination: RP28 received her booster vaccine this month.

Molting: 3 seals molted this month, including adult male R6FQ who molted at the extremely busy snorkeling point at Poipu.

Research/Support of PIFSC:

·       Sub-sampled scat, molt, and tissue plug samples accordingly.

·       Logged all seal sightings for PIFSC database. Organized photos and reported sightings, molt tallies, survival factors to send to PIFSC.

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Field Report: August 2021

Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 213 seal sightings this month. This included 24 individually identified seals.

• August: 213
• July: 286
• June: 218
• May: 209
• April: 155
• March: 137
• February: 119
• January: 125
• December: 119
• November: 133
• October: 152
• September: 152
• August: 198

New:

• Adult female RK28 pupped at a remote beach on the north shore. The mother and pup (KP3) remain in the area and are thriving. A daily pup watch schedule has been established and pup zone set with numerous signs.
• Displaced one seal, JF R2XW, from the Poipu Keiki pool as part of the Poipu seal management plan.  
• Return of visitors continuing to cause increased disturbance to seals across the island. 

Updates:

• The female pup RP20 born at Polihale and translocated elsewhere after weaning has remained in the release area; and has been sighted socializing with other juvenile seals on a daily basis.
  
• 3-year-old male R1NI washed ashore dead at Palamas Beach on the south shore in April. Necropsy results are complete and no definitive cause of death has been determined. However, screenings for morbillivirus, toxoplasmosis, and other routinely screened pathogens were negative.
  
• Subadult male seal RK58 was returned from KKO after 6 weeks of rehab and released on the north shore on March 26. He was treated at KKO for likely dog attack injuries that resulted in significant weight loss and infected puncture wounds. RK58 was finally resighted in August, on the east side of Kauai, and he is in good body condition.
  
• Due to COVID-19 stay-at-home measures, our new methods of monitoring continue, which include:
  • Weekly surveys of key beaches conducted by Olry and Thomton.
  • DAR staff conducting weekly island wide Creel Surveys.
  • PMRF staff continuing to send in routine reports and photos.
  • Requesting that people who call the hotline to report seals assist us by sending several photos and setting-up SRA signs or sticks. 

Morbillivirus Vaccination: RP20 (KP2) received her booster vaccine this month.

Molting: 4 seals molted this month.

Volunteers:

• The volunteer response program was restarted in June after being on hold since March, 2020. Currently, volunteers are dispatched for hauled out monk seal reports to post signs, assess and ID the seal, collect routine data, and then depart the area. Outreach/education should be as minimal as possible to reduce COVID exposure risk. For busy locations, a spot check schedule will be established. This technique has proven effective and will continue until further notice.
  
• The training of new volunteers has been on hold due to COVID, Delta variant surging. Program information and followup emails sent to new recruits.

Research/Support of PIFSC:

• Subsampled KP3 placenta for NOAA PIFSC.
  
• Sub-sampled scat, molt, and tissue plug samples accordingly.
• 
  Logged all seal sightings for PIFSC database. Organized photos and reported sightings, molt tallies, survival factors to send to PIFSC.

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Field Report: April 2021

Update: The Kauai team logged 155 seal sightings this month. This included 31 individually identified seals.

• April 155
• March: 137
• February: 119
• January: 125
• December: 119
• November: 133
• October: 152
• September: 152
• August: 198
• July: 120
• June: 81
• May: 147
• April: 117

New:

• Flipper tagged a new yearling seal likely from Niihau. New ID is R2XW. 
  
• Flipper tagged 2020 pup PK1 as RM36. 
  
• RB00 pupped on north shore beach. Pup KP1 is thriving.
  
• 3-year-old male R1NI washed ashore dead at west side. Carcass was fresh code 2, collected and frozen on Kauai, then shipped to Oahu for necropsy. 
  
• Return of visitors with Kauai entering Safe Travels Program causing increased disturbance to seals at Poipu. More signs put at racks at Poipu beach park to manage SRA without ropes and volunteers deployed.
  

Updates:

• Subadult male seal RK58 was returned from KKO after 6 weeks of rehab and released at on March 26. He was treated at KKO for likely dog attack injuries that resulted in significant weight loss and infected puncture wounds.
  
• Due to COVID-19 stay-at-home measures, our new methods of monitoring continue, which include:
  • Weekly surveys of key areas conducted by staff
  • DAR staff conducting weekly island wide Creel Surveys
  • PMRF staff continuing to send in routine reports and photos
  • Requesting that people who call the hotline to report seals assist us by sending several photos and setting-up SRA signs or sticks. 

Morbillivirus Vaccination: RM28 received the initial vaccine this month.

Volunteers: 

• Volunteer program remains on hold due to COVID-19.
  

Research/Support of PIFSC:

• Sub-sampled scat, molt, and tissue plug samples accordingly.
  
• Logged all seal sightings for PIFSC database. Organized photos and reported sightings, molt tallies, survival factors to send to PIFSC.

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