Monk Seal Matriarchs #178: RH58’s Lineage

RH58 and RK58 in 2018.

Many predictions came with the start of the new millennium, perhaps, save one: The birth of a female Hawaiian monk seal who would survive more than 22 years—and counting—and make a significant contribution to the recovery of the species. She was born in 2000 at Mahaulepu on the southeast coast of Kauai. Because that coastline is fairly rugged, it was decided to translocate her upon weaning to a spot that would give her as favorable a start in life as possible. This was back when the population of Hawaiian monk seals across the archipelago was declining every year and few were sighted in the Main Hawaiian Islands. When she was translocated, she was also flipper-tagged with RH58 on her left flipper and RH59 on her right. Both have since broken off.

RH58, also known to some as “Rocky,” started her prolific pupping history at age six. Since then, she’s pupped 14 times, skipping only three years. Eight of those pups were female. Six of the 14 are still regularly sighted, although they now range across the main Hawaiian Islands. The collective of RH58’s pups illustrate the many challenges facing Hawaiian monk seals in the Main Hawaiian Islands.

Here’s a recap and status of her offspring.

2006: RO12, male, last known sighting 2007.

2007: RB00, female, spends most of her time around Hawaii Island, returning to Kauai to pup.

2009: RA00, female, required veterinary intervention to investigate due to weight loss, disappeared 2011.

2010: RT12, male, died in 2016 on Oahu likely due to drowning in a fisheries interaction.

2011: RK52, female, birthed two pups (the first stillborn; the second, RL52, was thriving until her death due to suspicious circumstances. Hasn’t been seen since February 2021.

2012: RL17, female. Died from unknown causes.

2013: RN44, male. Has become one of the dominant males on Kauai, routinely seen all over the island.

2014: RF58, female. Survived a dog attack that left her with more than 60 bite marks on her body and lead to several abscesses. A NOAA veterinary team administered antibiotics. Unfortunately, RF58 died in a suspicious incident when she was less than one year old. 

2015: RG58, male. Currently THE dominant male on Kauai. Seen all over the island, constantly proving that he’s the man.

2017: RJ58, female, known as “Kaimana,” because she was born at Kaimana Beach, Waikiki, Oahu; first known seal born at Waikiki. She was translocated at weaning and is doing well on Oahu. 

2018: RK58, male. After numerous pup-switches that left him in a vulernable situaiton, he was raised at Ke Kai Ola on Hawaii Island and subsequently released into the wild. In 2021, he was attacked by dogs and went back to Ke Kai Ola for rehabilitation. He is currently thriving and commonly sighted around Kauai.

2019: RL58, female. Last seen on Kauai in Nov. 2020.

2020: RM58, female. Doing great. Routinely seen around Kauai.

2022: RQ58, male. Born at Kaimana Beach in Waikiki on Oahu. He was translocated upon weaning and is currently doing well on Oahu.

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Monk Seal Monday #27: Rocky’s Back

The eighteen-year-old Hawaiian monk seal known to science as RH58 but more commonly known to thousands of her fans as “Rocky” has returned to Kaua`i and given birth to her 11th pup on a remote stretch of coastline where she has pupped nine previous times.

That news has allowed many, many, many people in the Hawaiian monk seal world to breathe a sign of relief, because they won’t have to worry quite as much about the health and safety of mom and pup and beachgoers as they did last year when Rocky surprised everyone by pupping on busy Waikiki Beach. (Reminder: Protective moms have been known to charge snorkelers and swimmers in the water, so steer clear.)

Rocky herself was born on another beach on Kaua`​i back in 2000. At some point in her adulthood, she crossed the 70-mile-wide Ka`ie`iewaho Channel and spends much of her adult life navigating the waters and coastline of O`ahu.

She gave birth on the shores of Kaua`i for the first time in 2006 when she was six years of age.

She continued to live on O`​ahu and pup on Kaua`i with little to no trouble (or drama!) until four years ago.

In 2014, Rocky and her pup were involved in a dog(s) attack. Her pup (RF58) received over 60 bite marks on her body, developing a couple abscesses around her neck. A NOAA veterinary team responded with antibiotics. (This was the same attack in which RK28‘s young pup was killed.) Remember, it’s a state law that all dogs on beaches must be leashed.

Then, in 2017, Rocky pupped on Waikiki Beach, igniting her headline-making days and introducing Hawaiian monk seals to tens of thousands of visitors from across the globe. Their first few weeks together were live-streamed by a local media outlet, and the pupping event sparked numerous Facebook fan pages.

In January 2018, Rocky became a grandmother for the first time when her female pup–RB00–gave birth to a pup (R00K) on Lāna`i. Then, she almost became a grandmother a second time when RK52 pupped earlier this year. Unfortunately, that pup was stillborn. RK52 was born in 2011 and officials have hopes she will give birth to many healthy pups in the future.

Hawaiian monk seals can live to be 25 to 30 years old in the wild, so there’s a good chance Rocky will continue to contribute to the recovery of her species in the years to come. Perhaps Rocky’s next great headline will come in six or seven years when she, RB00, and R00K all three pup in the same year. Now, that would be big news.

Keep returning to this page. Photos and video will be added throughout the next few days.

Meanwhile, if you’d like a historical review of Rocky’s whereabouts when she’s on O`ahu, try searching for “RH58” on the Monk Seal Mania website.

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Loss of female pup, RF58.

Photo credit: G. Langley

At the end of November, 2014, female RF58 suffered severe blunt force trauma to the skull and died from complications associated with massive trauma and significant internal bleeding. The necropsy did not reveal any other signs of disease or illness. This is the 9^th suspicious monk seal death since 2009, and the first since April 2012. NOAA Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) is investigating these deaths in coordination with the State of Hawaii, DLNR DOCARE. 

Photo credit: V. Bloy

RF58 was born in June, 2014 on the north shore of Kauai to a well-known mother, RH58. This mom/pup pair had a rough start though, as we reported in an earlier posting, they were victims of a dog attack in July 2014 that killed another pup. After developing abscesses (i.e., infection) from over 60 dog bites, RF58 was treated by a veterinarian and recovered. Sadly, this female pup will not have the chance to contribute to the recovery of this highly endangered species. The encouraging news is that this mother was born on Kauai in the year 2000 and has since returned 8 times to give birth to 8 pups. We look forward to her return again in 2015.

Photo credit: V. Bloy.

 

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2014 Year-End Report

Monk Seal Management Summary for Kauai in 2014:

2014 was a busy and promising year for monk seal recovery on Kauai. Below are some of the numbers we tallied based on reports submitted by the public and efforts by volunteers and staff members. (Please note, these are only the numbers for Kauai and don’t represent the larger picture of monk seal recovery in the Hawaiian islands.)

Grand sightings total: 2​,516 monk seal sightings on Kauai in 2014! (6.9 seals per day).

Kauai population: 47 unique individual seals sighted in 2014.

Births:

• ​5 seal pups born (3 male and 2 female).
• 3 pregnant females likely pupped on Niihau (departed pregnant, returned thin).

Mortalities: 4 seals died.

• 2 were 2014 pups (PK5 – dog attack, and RF58 – intentionally killed, investigation is ongoing)
• ​1 was a ​previously unknown yearling (R4DD​ – cause of death was likely drowning)
• ​​1 ​was a ​juvenile from 2012 cohort (RL17 ​ – cause of death unknown).​

New Seals: we sighted 11 new seals in 2014, likely from Niihau.

• 4 were flipper tagged​​ (R4DD, R8HE, R8HP, R1KY).
• ​1 was captured for ​surgical removal of an injured eye (R1KU)​ and eventually released on Niihau​.
• ​3 were ​bleach marked for temporary identification.

Photo credit: M. Miyashiro

The largest and strongest pup of the year is female RF30. Based on her excellent body condition, it is obvious that she quickly learned to forage on her own after weaning.  She was routinely sighted during the final few months of 2014 along the east side of Kauai.

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Field Report: Summer 2014

Banner pupping year on Kauai – 5 pups!

In addition to the previous pups reported (PK1, PK2 and PK3) two more pups were born on the north shore of Kauai. RH58, a well known and very successful mother gave birth to PK4 on June 28th. RK28, another proven mother gave birth to PK5 on July 16th.

Pups only spend around 40 days with their mothers, during which they gain massive amounts of weight from nursing. The typical pup is born at 35 pounds and gains between 100-150 pounds in a short 5-6 weeks! The mothers fast during this time and convert blubber into very rich milk (twice the calories of heavy whipping cream).

When the mother’s blubber is depleted they abruptly wean their pups by departing, usually at night, and do not return. The young pups are large, healthy and strong swimmers by this point and quickly learn to forage on their own. They are still very naïve, however, and can easily be taught to seek humans for food and company, so it’s crucial that we monitor these ‘weaners’ and make sure humans do not interfere with this critical developmental stage. Shortly after weaning, the pups are flipper tagged and given new permanent IDs, all of the pups born in 2014 were tagged as the ‘F’ cohort (i.e. RF22, the R identifies Main Hawaiian Island seals)

Meet the 2014 Kauai ‘F’ cohort:

RF22 male. Photo credit: Langley

RF28 male. Photo credit: Langley

RF30 female. Photo credit: Thomton.

RF58 female. Photo credit: Langley.

PK5 male. Photo credit: Langley

Off-Leash Dogs: Tragically, PK5 was killed by stray dogs when he was only two weeks old. The incident occurred during the night and was therefore not witnessed by our diligent pup-sitters. Tracks, blood, and injuries to four other seals, including PK5’s mom, indicated that the mother seals did their best to protect their pups. PK4 (now tagged RF58) had over 60 bite marks on her body and developed major abscesses around her neck. She immediately received medical attention and disease screening by a NOAA veterinary team, and fortunately healed quickly. Currently she is doing well and learning how to be an independent juvenile seal. Permanent neck scars will help us identify her, but pose no risk to her survival.

This was the first known monk seal death caused by a dog and a warning to all of us that we must keep our dogs on leashes (it is State law on all beaches) and strongly encourage everyone else to do the same.

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