Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 294 seal sightings this month. This included 26 individually identified seals.
- April: 294
- March: 292
- February: 233
- January: 233
- December: 267
- November: 168
- October: 229
- September: 251
- August: 213
- July: 286
- June: 218
- May: 209
- April: 155
New:
· Monk seal activity in the Poipu area remains high, with several seals hauled out daily on the very busy Poipu Beaches.
Updates:
· New subadult male with bleach mark V11 (temporary ID of V11) is exhibiting concerning behavior by approaching people in the water within three feet, with an obvious interest in humans and no signs of fear. Displacements from the keiki pool in Poipu by staff also revealed the seal has very little fear of humans, but instead boldly approaches crowding boards. Update: this seal was displaced from the keiki pool four times in April and continues to show very little fear of humans. Will continue to closely monitor this seal.
Molting: One seal completed a molt last month at Poipu, a challenging location to manage.
Displacements: It was a very busy month with 12 displacements from the keiki pool. There were many seals in the Poipu area socializing, mounting, and playing together all day long. Several subadult males showed very little fear or reaction to displacement, specifically RK58 and V11. The following seals were displaced:
· V11 subadult male – four times
· RK58 subadult male – four times
· Temp 609 subadult male – one time
· RF28 adult male – one time
· RM28 juvenile female – two times