It’s not uncommon for monk seals from Niihau–where they aren’t tagged–to venture over to Kauai. Earlier this month, an untagged Hawaiian monk seal male showed up on the north shore, hanging out in the same general area for seven straight days, and it was assumed he was from Niihau. Volunteers managed to take pictures pinpointing several unique scars that should have made it easy to identify him. But his scars didn’t match any such seals in the NOAA database, and he was given the identification of R406. Then, seemingly as soon as he appeared, he disappeared, presumably back to Niihau. But last week, he was sighted hauled out on the shores of Oahu. Is this just the beginning of his journey? Or did his journey start farther northwest of Niihau? And where will he venture next? At least, he’s now well identified and logged in the database.
PC: Langley
PC: Honnert
PC: Honnert
PC: Langley
PC: Honnert
Kaua'i Seals 