Field Report: September 2021

Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 251 seal sightings this month. This included 30 individually identified seals.

• September: 251
• August: 213
• July: 286
• June: 218
• May: 209
• April: 155
• March: 137
• February: 119
• January: 125
• December: 119
• November: 133
• October: 152
• September: 152

New:

• Discovered another new yearling male seal near Kapaa. The seal is likely from Niihau and we hope to flipper tag him soon.
  
• Off-leash dogs and irresponsible pet owners continue to disturb seals. Two large dogs were witnessed by the public harassing a large seal at Makua (also known as “Tunnels”). The seal was lunging and vocalizing at the dogs as the dogs continued to circle and bark at it. No physical contact was made. The owner was out snorkeling and did little to intervene once out of the water. DOCARE and the Humane Society were contacted. The Humane Society field officer said they will focus patrols in that area. Additional reports of off-leash dogs were received this month. 

Updates:

• Adult female RK28 pupped on the north shore on August 10, 2021. The mother and pup (KP3) remained in the area until the pup weaned on October 2, 2021. The nursing period was 53 days. Flipper tagging and vaccination is scheduled for October.
  
• The female pup RP20 born at Polihale and translocated to the north shore after weaning has remained in the release area; and has been sighted socializing with other juvenile seals regularly. 
  
• 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; and
  • 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: RP32 received her initial vaccine this month.

Molting: Four seals molted this month.

Volunteers:

• The volunteer response program was restarted in a modified form 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 follow-up emails sent to new recruits.

Research/Support of PIFSC:

• Subsampled KP3 tissue plug 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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Monk Seal Monday #145: Mystery Mom Identified.

Over the years, the Kauai Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Hui has collected hundreds and thousands of photographs from volunteers of numerous and oodles of individual seals, especially moms and pups. Now, thanks to those photographs, the team has been able to positively identify the untagged female who gave birth earlier this summer to a pup (RP20) at Polihale.

Turns out, she was a known seal, after all. All it took was a good clean look at some tell-tale scars. The good look came after she molted post-weaning.

So, here’s the big reveal: Polihale Mom is R400.

For several years, R400 birthed late in the summer along Na Pali coast; however, last year she was sighted on Oahu (for the first time) in July, and she did not look pregnant. Evidently, she took a year off before returning to Kauai to give birth to RP20.

Here are some scars that led to the identification of Polihale Mom as R400:

• Semi-circle lower left back;
• Cookie-cutter shark semi-circle anterior left front nipple;
• Neck scar that varies in appearacne
• Unusual line scar 3rd digit left fore flipper;
• Lighter scars include teeth rake marks lower back, two canine tooth punctures, and parallel lines mid-back, visible in 2021, likely will fade. 

Here are just a few photos (credit M. Olry & J. Thomton) of R400 (and her scars) over the years.

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Monk Seal Monday #141: Meet RP32.

Kauai’s first pup of 2021 was born on April 23rd. On September 10th, he received his official flipper tags–P32 on his left flipper and P33 on his right.

Thanks to regular reports by volunteers and interested beachgoers, we have a bit of a history of what the youngster’s been up to in recent months:

• After weaning around June 16th, he hung around his natal beach for a few weeks.
• Then, he started to explore coastlines south of his birth area.
• On July 15th, he was bleach-marked “V1,” making it easier to identify him, though he also has a distinct natural bleach marks, too–white tip on his right fore-flipper and a big white spot on his right side. The combination of the three bleach marks made it easy to identify him.
• On July 29th, P32 was found with an ulua hook in the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, it was superficial and he was able to free himself of the hook by August 5th.
• Once RP20 was translocated to this same area, P32 was often seen interacting with his and pups from 2020, RM36 and RM58.
• Starting August 29th, P32 went missing.
• He reappeared on Sept. 10th and, at that time, he was outfitted with flipper tags. Now, he goes by the permanent identification of RP32.

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PC: M. Olry and V. Poelzl.

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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.
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  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: July 2021

Monthly Update: The Kauai team logged 286 seal sightings this month. This included 29 individually identified seals.

• July 286
• June: 218
• May: 209
• April: 155
• March: 137
• February: 119
• January: 125
• December: 119
• November: 133
• October: 152
• September: 152
• August: 198
• July: 120

New:

• A subadult male seal (ID: temp606) was found with a medium size circle hook and 9 feet of heavy trailing line. The line was trimmed, leaving 3 feet trailing. Five days later the seal we resighted hook-free, indicating the seal threw the hook on its own.
• The weaned male pup KP1 was found with a medium size circle hook and 4 inches of heavy trailing line. The hooking was not life threatening and was monitored. Seven days later, the seal was hook-free, indicating this seal threw the hook on its own, too.
• Instagram video submitted to NOAA of a female monk seals being mobbed by male seals off Lehua.  Kauai staff notified PMRF biologists to look out for this seal, plan to assess and treat seal if found.
• Displaced two seals 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 born at Polihale successfully weaned after 37 days of nursing. Daily pup monitoring by staff and volunteers minimized disturbance by trucks on the beach, surfers, swimmers, and campers. Due to the high risk posed by reckless beach driving common at Polihale, a thorough risk analysis was conducted to assess hazards the weaned pup would face after the mother departed. The analysis concluded that translocation from Polihale Beach to another remote beach was the safest management option for the pup. Therefore, the pup was captured, transported, flipper tagged, and vaccinated by the Kauai team, and released at another safer location. The seal is now tagged RP20, has remained in release area, and has been sighted socializing with other juvenile seals on a daily basis.
• Flipper tagging and morbillivirus vaccination for pup KP1 are planned for August. 
• 3-year-old male R1NI washed ashore dead on the south shore in April. Gross necropsy did not reveal much, awaiting histopathology lab results.
• Subadult male seal RK58 was returned from KKO after 6 weeks of rehab and released on March 26. He was treated at KKO for likely dog attack injuries that resulted in significant weight loss and infected puncture wounds. Still no re-sightings of him since release.
• Due to COVID-19 stay-at-home measures, our new methods of monitoring continue, which include:
  • Weekly surveys of key beaches conducted by NOAA and DLNR 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: RP20 (KP2) received her initial vaccine this month.

Molting: 4 seals molted this month

Bleach Marking: 1 seal was bleach marked 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, but has now resumed.

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.

Read Full Post »