Too close for comfort at Po’ipu Beach A male Texas visitor was nipped on the behind by a mother monk seal Sunday at Po’ipu Beach Park. The mother, who is nursing a 2-week-old pup born at the Kaua’i County park,
Too close for comfort at Po’ipu Beach
A male Texas visitor was nipped on the behind by a mother monk seal Sunday at Po’ipu Beach Park.
The mother, who is nursing a 2-week-old pup born at the Kaua’i County park, likely viewed the snorkeler as a threat to the pup, said Don Heacock, aquatic biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources.
The visitor was swimming outside a roped-off area established to give the mother and pup lots of swimming and beach resting room. Since yesterday’s incident, that perimeter has been doubled in size.
“This person didn’t really do anything wrong,” said Heacock, adding that like any mammal, a mother monk seal can be very protective of its young.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, which has had paid observers at the park since the seal’s birth, is conducting an investigation, said Delores Clark, spokeswoman.
The snorkeler was apparently about 50 feet away, outside the protective perimeter, when the mother swam rapidly up to him and gave him a nip.
The mother has been taking the pup into the water more frequently, teaching it how to swim, and she probably perceived the swimmer as a threat to the pup, Heacock continued.
Terrestrial humans must understand that whenever they enter the ocean, it is at their own peril, he added. Normally, monk seals aren’t aggressive, except mothers with pups and two or more males vying for the attention of a female, he added.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net
