CIRA de CASTILLOTGI Staff Writer NOHILI POINT — Protecting endangered monk seals, particularly precocious pups left by their mothers to fend for themselves, is a difficult task. That’s why state officials and the Kaua’i Monk Seal Watch Program are pumping
CIRA de CASTILLOTGI Staff Writer
NOHILI POINT — Protecting endangered monk seals, particularly precocious pups
left by their mothers to fend for themselves, is a difficult task.
That’s
why state officials and the Kaua’i Monk Seal Watch Program are pumping up their
efforts to educate the public about the endangered sea mammals and to let
people how to respond when an injured or dead seal is sighted.
On Oct. 10,
The Garden Island featured a story and photos of a baby monk seal born July 4
on a beach at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The female pup had been
tagged by wildlife officials from the National Marine Fisheries Service on Aug.
23 and, at about 150 pounds, was ready to fend for itself.
Sadly, the pup
apparently died shortly after it was tagged. And to make things worse, due to a
miscommunication, its death was not officially reported until last
month.
The headline on TGI’s story about the pup read “Baby monk seal fat,
happy.” In fact, when the story appeared, the little critter was dead.
The
pup was apparently spotted by a couple kayaking along the shoreline at Barking
Sands on Labor Day weekend. They recorded the numbers on the seal’s flipper
tags.
It was confirmed later that the tags matched those of the female
pup.
The kayakers called a member of the Monk Seal Watch Program, who then
left a message for Don Heacock, state aquatic biologist with the Department of
Land and Natural Resources.
Heacock said he never got the message.
The
cause of death is not known as the seal’s body was lost at sea; but it is
suspected that a collision with a zodiac that was spotted in the area at the
time the seal was found, bleeding heavily, may be responsible for the
death.
Heacock said the Kaua’i Monk Seals Watch Program, composed of
volunteers who are committed to sustaining and enhancing the Hawaiian monk seal
population and protecting their natural habitat so endangered seal recovery
will continue, was alerted of dead seal’s sighting but the timeliness of the
reporting prevented the recovery of the seal and subsequent
autopsy.
Heacock wants to alert the public that it is critical that any
sighting of dead protected sea animals, like monk seals and turtles, should be
reported to authorities immediately so an investigation can begin.
“In this
case although the tags were recorded the report information didn’t reach my
desk until two weeks ago and by now the seal was lost,” said Heacock.
It
is imperative, he said, that anyone, locals or visitors, who sites a monk seal
on the beach or in the ocean needs to stay away from the seals and report the
sighting to 644-3879.
Pup seals are left naturally to fend for themselves
as early as five weeks after their birth and need time to learn and develop
survival strategies.
Like their human counterparts, toddlers, the seal
pups are curious and not aware of impending danger like a fast moving boat or
fishing net.
Heacock said that three of the four seals born on Kaua’i have
died, but on a brighter note two pregnant females have been spotted
recently.
An educational poster is in production that depicts information
on protecting resting seals from human disturbances and beach users from
negative seal-human interaction.
Funded by a coalition of agencies that
endeavor to protect the seals and the public, the posters will be displayed at
hotels, visitor destinations, and retail locations around Kaua’i.
