Saturday, January 3, 2009

1-3-09 Alii Beach Monk





Bleach mark might read VO2 / VOR / or VOP hard to tell! Then DB got ahold of the pictures and here's what he says: "Aloha Hana, Thank You ......very much for the help with the Alii Beach animal this evening. Your photos confirmed that this is an old, adult male."

His old Laysan (brown) tag, (4DJ) is just a nub, with just the triangular part of the "4" remaining, on his right hind flipper, and easily missed. His permanent ID number is T21M, which is how the office refers to him. He got what is supposed to be a "V02" bleach on Kauai a while back. Just for future reference, Oahu animals get an "N" bleach, Kauai gets a "V" bleach.

4DJ was on Molokai in 1994, and was first seen on Oahu in 2004. He has also been documented on trips to Kauai, and Lehua Rock. He has been documented in all quadrants of Oahu, but interestingly enough he has never been seen on the North Shore until today. His last Oahu sighting was in Maili on 12-6-08. 4DJ does his annual molt in January, which is why he appears so green.

Though he is a ol' dude with lots of scars, he is best identified by a very prominent natural bleach white spot on his forehead , above his right eye, and of course by the nub of his tag. I'll attach a few shots of 4DJ from previous visits. Once again, Ya' Done Good ! DB


It looks like an older monk, but not one we've seen around here. DB says "He is a minimum of 26 years old, having first been seen as an adult (at least 5 y.o.) on Laysan in 1987."


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