Monk Seal Monday #92: The Tragic Loss of RO28

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Sadly, on April 1, 2020, after a 10-week-long battle with toxoplasmosis, a deadly parasitic disease, the adult female seal RO28 passed away.

Also known as “Pōhaku,” RO28 was 14 years old, in the midst of her prime reproductive years, when she died. She was born on Kauai’s north shore in 2006 to RK06. (RK06 was tragically shot to death while she was carrying a full-term pup. The pup did not survive the shooting.)

Over the years, RO28 has made her fair share of appearances on these virtual pages. Throughout her life, she gave birth to seven pups, the first six of which she pupped and raised until weaning along the same stretch of coastline on Kauai’s north shore where she was born. (It’s not uncommon for females to pup near their own birth site.) However, RO28 spent her recent years on the island of Oahu, only returning to Kauai to give birth.

Here’s a recap of what we know about RO28’s life:

• In her early adolescent years, RO28 spent much of her time hauling out on rocks along the Poipu coastline.
• On Good Friday in 2010, she was successfully de-hooked.
• She was first sighted on Oahu at Kaena Point during the 2010 Semi-Annual Hawaiian Monk Seal Count. She was re-sighted twice shortly thereafter, once with a fresh cookie cutter shark bite on her back.
• In 2013, RO28 gave birth to RN30 who has traveled to Oahu and has been regularly sighted on Kauai’s north shore.
• In 2014, RO28 gave birth to RF28 who has ventured to Niihau and is also commonly reported along the Poipu coastline.
• In 2015, RO28 gave birth to RG28 who often hauls out on Kauai’s South Shore. This birth was miraculously captured on video by one of our volunteers.

• In 2016, RO28 gave birth to RH80 who regularly circumnavigates Kauai.
• In 2017, RO28 gave birth to RJ28 who can be found on beaches on Kauai’s north shore and east side.
• In 2018, RO28 gave birth to RKA4 who was last sighted at Kipu Kai.

In 2018, RO28 and two other mothers pupped near each other, resulting in multiple pup-switching incidents. This occurs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands where more females are pupping on fewer suitable habitat. RO28 was successfully reunited with RKA4; however, one of the other moms, RH58, also known as “Rocky” eventually showed aggressive behavior toward her pup, and he was rescued by NOAA and successfully raised and eventually released back to the wild.

RO28 pupped on Oahu last year and weaned her pup. Unfortunately, the pup tragically died some time thereafter. NOAA reported, “The circumstances surrounding her death indicate that she did not die of natural causes.”

The loss of RO28 makes thirteen known deaths due to toxoplasmosis.

The first documented monk seal death due to toxoplasmosis occurred in 2001. That number has now risen to at least 13 monk seals, making it a leading threat to the main Hawaiian Islands population. Because seals disappear and die without being discovered, the actual number of deaths caused by toxoplasmosis is likely much higher. Unfortunately, the data indicates more females die than males, presenting another challenge to recovery of the species. According to NOAA Fisheres, “Every lost female means that her future pups, and their future pups, are lost to the world.”

What’s unique about RO28’s case is she was only the third monk seal with toxoplasmosis to be rescued alive. While the other two passed away within 48 hours, veterinarians and care-givers were able to work with RO28 for 10 weeks. During that time, she showed improvement at times, providing science with invaluable information that will, hopefully, one day allow for successful medical care for toxo-infected monk seals.

The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a microscopic, single-cell organism. Just one of their eggs—known as oocysts— is enough to kill a monk seal. A single cat can excrete 145 billion eggs per year in its feces, according to DLNR. It’s a staggering number.

According to this NOAA report, “The parasite that causes ‘toxo’ sexually reproduces in cats, which shed T. gondii eggs into the environment via their feces. The feces of just one cat contains millions of T. gondii eggs that survive in the environment for many months.

“Any warm-blooded animal, including humans, can contract toxoplasmosis by ingesting a single T. gondii egg — and cats are essential for the reproduction and spread of the parasite.”

The loss of RO28 is yet another reason to keep cats indoors to protect cats and Hawaii’s native wildlife. Please.

 

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Monk Seal Monday #26: RO28

Twelve years ago, Kauai’s newest mom, RO28, was born in nearly the same spot she gave birth last week. While monk seals tend to have unique personalities and proclivities, it’s not uncommon for females to return to their natal beach sites when it’s their time to give birth. In fact, RO28 has pupped along the same stretch of coastline for six years in a row.

What’s more unique than that is the fact that RO28’s six pups are all still alive.

With all the threats facing Hawaiian monk seals–entanglements in marine debris, ingested fish hooks, intentional harm by humans, and the growing threat of toxoplasmosis–somehow all of RO28’s six pups have, thus far, evaded them all.

Point of note: RO28’s mother was RK06 who was shot by a fisherman in 2009. Even RO28 herself has run into some challenges. In 2010, she turned up with a fishhook in her mouth. Shortly after it was removed, she crossed the 100-mile open ocean channel to Oahu where she spends most of her time–until it’s time to give birth. Then, she makes the return journey to her natal site. Within a few days of arriving, she pups. The timing is impressive.

Here’s a recap of RO28’s pupping history:

• In 2013, RO28 gave birth to RN30 who has recently traveled to Oahu
• In 2014, RO28 gave birth to RF28 who now hangs out at Niihau
• In 2015, RO28 gave birth to RG28 who often hauls out on Kauai’s South Shore. This birth was captured on video by one of our volunteers and can be seen here.
• In 2016, RO28 gave birth to RH80 who regularly circumnavigates Kauai
• In 2017, RO28 gave birth to RJ28 who can be found on beaches on Kauai’s North Shore and East Side

 

And, as always, if you’d like to volunteer with the Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui on Kauai, please email kauaiseals@gmail.com. And if you run across any seals on the beach, please take a quick health assessment and report any sightings to the hotline–808-651-7668.

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Field Report: November

In November, the Kauai team logged 239 seal sightings. This included 35 individually identified seals. Here’s a look at how the 239 number compares to other months.

November: 239
October: 225
September: 354
August: 236
July: 335

As a reminder, there are numerous reasons that can effect the number of reported seal sightings. Two big ones are the availability of our steadfast volunteers taking their daily beach walks, and the presence of moms with pups and the subsequent “pup sitting” we do. Of course, the seals themselves play a factor in this, too. Maybe there’s some seasonality in foraging that takes them to remote areas of the island where we don’t see them. That’s the thing with animals that spend the majority of their lives at sea–we don’t quite know.

Other November news to note:

• Seal activity continues around Poipu Beach Park with seals swimming among swimmers, snorkelers and the water aerobics class and hauling out on the beach amidst beach-goers. Our advice continues to be for everyone involved to give the animal its space and never approach, touch, harass, disturb it. Remember: Monk seals are wild animals; let’s keep them that way.
• One additional monk seal received its morbillivirus vaccination in November. This virus, similar to distemper in dogs, has not infected the monk seal species. But in a proactive effort to combat an outbreak, the Hawaiian Monk Seal Science Program started vaccinating seals last year. To learn more about the threat of morbillivirus, read this Smithsonian article.
• Two seals “bleach-marked” this month–RG22 as V22 and R340 as V77. To learn more about using Clairol to help identify individuals seals, read this previous #MonkSealMonday report.
• Four seals completed their molts in November, including: RH38, RG58, RK14, RH80. To learn more about molting in Hawaiian monk seals, read this previous #MonkSealMonday report.

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Monk Seal Monday #5

It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, and there’s probably a few of us who could shed a few pounds after feasting all weekend, so let’s talk about molting.

Healthy Hawaiian monk seals molt once a year. That is, they shed the top layer of their skin–and their fur along with it. It’s called a “catastrophic” molt, because it happens over a shortened period of time of about 10 days to two weeks. Unlike a snake, say, the process doesn’t happen all in one piece but in bits and pieces. A monk seal can look pretty raggedy during this time. The molting process taxes the monk seal’s energetic resources, so you’ll often find a molting animal tucked under bushes and resting on the beach. That’s all the more reason to not disturb them and why the HMSRP rarely uses them as study subjects–say for telemetry and/or video camera purposes.

We’ve got a couple Hawaiian monk seals going through their annual catastrophic molts right now and a few more ready to start any time, including RH80, RH38, and, possibly, RK14.

The clue to knowing when a monk seal is about to molt is when they start looking very green. Monk seals tend to spend two-thirds of their life in the water. During that time, algae can grow on their fur, typically in areas where a monk seal’s fur doesn’t always dry out–under the fore flipper and around their rear flippers.

Photo credit: Lynn Nowatzki

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Field Report: Winter 2017

The winter of 2017 has turned out to be busy for the Kauai HMS Conservation Hui.

Photo credit: Miyashiro

In January a new juvenile female seal was sighted. She has what appears to be a healed cookie cutter shark bite behind her left eye. She also has a pit scar on her right mid side. She was originally sighted on Ni’ihau and is officially R347.

In February five more juvenile female seals were sighted. Four of them were bleach marked and/or flipper tagged, so we can track and monitor them, especially since several of them are fairly clean of scars or natural bleach marks can often be used to identify untagged seals.

One with a faint scar behind her left eye was entered into the monk seal registry as R351 and bleach marked V73. A week later, using her bleach mark to identify her, she turned up on Molokai.

A youngish female popped up on the east shore several times, with a distinguishable natural bleach mark on the tips of her left fore flipper. She was flipper tagged and is now 1NS.

Photo credit: Miyashiro

On the west shore, a juvenile female was bleached V75 and flipper tagged as 1KM.

Two more female yearlings were found on the west shore, one of which was bleached as V2.

Photo credit: Thomton

In February, RN02, a subadult male who was translocated from Big Island to Niihau in 2013 after he repeatedly interacted aggressively with swimmers, was sighted with blood near his mouth. A visual examination revealed a small hook and approximately six inches of monofilament fishing line along his gum line. Consultation was made with a marine mammal vet, and it was determined the hook would likely loosen and fall out on its own. Thus, no intervention was deemed necessary at the time.

Sadly, a well-known Kauai seal was found dead in late February. R4DP, a female, was approximately 15 years old. She was first tagged on Kauai in 2008. That same year she was flown to Oahu for examination for suspected ingestion of a fish hook. Upon examination, no hook was found, and she was returned to Kauai and released. Unfortunately, after necropsy, it was determined R4DP’s injuries were inconsistent with natural causes. Thus, as a marine mammal protected by the Endangered Species Act, her death is being investigated by law enforcement officials.

This is the 11th “suspicious death” of a monk seal since 2009, and the first since 2014.  Anyone having information related to the death of R4DP or any other suspected monk seal death should call the NOAA OLE hotline at 1-800-853-1964 or DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) at (808) 873-3990 or 643-DLNR.

2016 Pup Update:

Weaned pup updates RH80 continues to appear on the north and east coasts of Kauai, looking healthy. Also, for the first time since she was flipper tagged last summer, RH38 popped up on the North Shore, also looking healthy.

Photo credit: Miyashiro

RH92 is looking good, too, although she turned up with a cookie cutter shark bite on the right side of her head. Though it is the usual 3” circular wound, it appears very large on her small head and looks deep. Fortunately the bite missed vital structures of her eye and ear. Monk seals have an amazing capacity to heal from large wounds on their own. RH92 is healing fine, and the wound will likely shrink to a small pit scar. Of greater concern for RH92 is that she was found for the first time hanging out near a small boat landing, foraging and eating a fish, likely scraps tossed out by fishermen. This is a good reminder not to throw fish and scraps into the water, especially if a seal is present.

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Field Report: October

Logged seal sightings:
October: 208
September: 222
August: 230
July: 414
June: 356
May: 263

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Updates on Pups.

Photo credit: G. Langley

Weaned female pups RH80 and RH92 continue to explore more widely and then return to their natal beach. As you may have read last month, RH92 was bitten by a loose dog on the beach, but fortunately her wounds were minor and she quickly healed. The same dog was observed unleashed and went after RH92 again, however did not make contact with the seal. DOCARE was notified and will follow up. Another dog was found running at-large without its owner and was transferred to the Kauai Humane Society (KHS). Hawaii state laws forbid dogs being off leash, including service dogs. A dog off leash is a danger to itself and a seal, due to bite wounds and spread of disease. We continue to track and monitor these vulnerable, naive weaned seals as much as possible.

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Other Seal Events.

• R339 and RG22 both molted. To learn more about molting in monk seals, click here.
• RK28, observed with large mobbing wounds and abscesses on her back, continues to heal. For more information about male aggression in monk seals, click here.
• RG22 was bleach marked V22. To learn more about why and how we bleach mark monk seals, click here.

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NOAA Fisheries “Species in the Spotlight: Hawaiian Monk Seals.”
The latest Spotlight on Monk Seals update was released from NOAA Fisheries and is available here.

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Voices of our Youth to Save Hawaiian Monk Seals.

Malama Learning Center has completed a year-long project developed through work with Wai’anae Searider Productions on protecting the Hawaiian Monk Seal. They focused on using voices of our youth to get key messages out about ways we can respect and be better neighbors with our native Hawaiian monk seal. The youth are featured because they speak from their hearts and they can perhaps be the best messengers to reach their peers as well as adults.

The campaign is called: Seal ‘n’ Danger. Mahalo to Kapolei High School students for creating that clever name. You can access all elements of the project on the

new website. The website contains facts and important information on ways people can help. It also houses five new videos featuring students from O’ahu and Moloka’i, as well as scientists and resource managers. And it is beautifully illustrated with artwork courtesy of local wildlife artist, Patrick Ching.

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