Kawela Bay April 26, 2008

We found this little lady on the shores of Kawela Bay on Saturday. Because of the lack of scars and/or other identifying marks, I could not determine which seal this was. I sent the pictures into NOAA for a more professional identification and they too could not say with a certainty which seal this was. She beached herself at 07:30 Saturday Morning. My wife and I took the pictures, coned off the area then left.

Honolulu Advertiser - Article

Anti-shark tests may save baby seals
Boat-engine sounds and magnets to be used to shield pups
Read comments (3)Recommend (3)
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

Federal marine biologists yesterday received state approval to begin testing magnets, boat engine recordings and other nonlethal deterrents to protect Hawaiian monk seal pups from sharks in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.


That's because Galapagos sharks prowling the nearshore waters of the monument's French Frigate Shoals have foiled attempts to reduce their numbers under a controversial culling program.

"Our attempts to remove them in the manner in which we've done in the past is no longer working because the sharks have changed their behavior, and now we're forced to seek alternative ways to improve juvenile (seal) survival," said George "Bud" Antonelis of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

A no-kill plan also is preferred by those who don't want culling taking place in the newly designated Papahanau-mokuakea preserve, which encompasses the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

"We set up this big preserve to protect a predator-dominant ecosystem and then immediately came in with a plan to cull the top predators. It seemed contradictory," said Dan Polhemus, head of the state Division of Aquatic Resources, part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

He said the situation created "an interesting balancing act" in which conservation officials had to choose whether to let nature take its course and increase the risk of extinction for Hawaiian monk seals or step in and provide protection for the more fragile of the two species.

"Nobody was entirely comfortable with this ... and as it turned out, the sharks were far too clever," Polhemus said.

Between 2000 and 2005, 12 sharks were removed from a small group of Galapagos sharks that were stalking the still-nursing pups off Trig Island in French Frigate Shoals, a 22-mile-long complex of reefs and sandbars 560 miles northwest of Honolulu.

The cull substantially reduced pup deaths from predation, according to Antonelis. Only eight such fatalities occurred in each of the last two years at the shoals, he said.

By comparison, there were 31 known fatal shark attacks on monk seal pups in 1997, the worst year on record.

But in 2006 and 2007, no sharks were taken because they had become wary of human activity and kept their distance, Antonelis said.

"What we'd done unintentionally is taught the sharks to avoid us, with this heightened sensitivity to our presence. We're hoping to use that avoidance behavior as a mechanism by which we can deter them from the pupping areas."

Messing with mealtime: A panel of shark and seal experts convened in January to discuss nonlethal shark deterrents to be tested in field trials starting next month.

Since the sharks at French Frigate Shoals have shown aversion to humans, one idea is to moor an 18- to 20-foot boat in the waters off Trig Island to give the impression that humans are present.

Another idea is to use amplified noise to mimic the sound of an approaching boat.

Scientists also want to test whether magnetic and electric fields can repel sharks from specific hot spots.

A fifth proposed deterrent would attempt to ward off sharks using visual arrays made of PVC tubing, fishing floats or foam "noodles." The devices would be installed in a way that wouldn't present an entanglement hazard, and could be used alone or in combination with magnetic arrays.

"There has never been an experiment like this in the past. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the number of pups being preyed upon," Antonelis said.

The seal population, estimated at 1,100 to 1,200, is at its lowest in recorded history. Since 2000, the population has been declining at a rate of 4 percent annually, according to Antonelis.

The primary reason is the low rate of juvenile survival. "Because we have fewer young animals growing up to join the ranks of the reproductive population, as those older animals die out from natural causes, the overall population level declines and fewer and fewer pups are born," he said.

In 2007, only 151 pups were born throughout the entire Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Many of the pups have been dying from starvation, thought to be due to competition for food with ulua and other top predators, Antonelis said.

Marine debris, which can entangle seals, and sharks are other causes of monk seal deaths.

Quirk of behavior: Marine biologists have been successful in relocating weaned pups to areas where sharks are not as great a threat, Antonelis said. Helping the youngest seals has been more challenging, and predation by Galapagos sharks at French Frigate Shoals is a new development.

"Through a series of unusual ecological events, it is suspected that the sharks learned to prey on pre-weaned pups. There is no other place in the Hawaiian archipelago where a small group of sharks have learned this behavior," he said.

Evidence indicates that only about 20 Galapagos sharks, which grow to 10 to 12 feet in length, were hunting monk seal pups at Trig Island, where the problem was first detected. As their numbers were culled, no new sharks joined the group, indicating the behavior was limited to that single population of sharks.

Why the sharks came to Trig Island in the first place is not clear. Antonelis said scientists think that when Whale-Skate Island, another low-lying islet within French Frigate Shoals, was lost to erosion, monk seal moms and their pups were driven to Trig, creating a greater concentration of animals — and more meal opportunities for sharks.

In addition, attempts by two aggressive male seals to mate with weaned pups at Trig suffocated or drowned a number of the younger animals. Antonelis said their carcasses in the water attracted Galapagos sharks that soon discovered more good eating.

"We relocated the males to Johnson Atoll but we weren't able to deal with the fact the sharks developed a behavior that focused on predation on pre-weaned pups," he said.

The Board of Land and Natural Resources yesterday granted a permit for the shark-deterrent experiments, which are planned for early May through September, during the pupping season.

Polhemus of the Division of Aquatic Resources said there could be useful implications from the research for similar conservation work in the main Hawaiian Islands, but that it is unlikely the state would consider the same shark-deterrent techniques to protect humans.

One reason is that the deterrents proposed for French Frigate Shoals have limited range and are meant for targeted use at specific sites, not the vast offshore expanses popular with people.

Another is that there are few shark attacks in Hawai'i on humans — an average of three to five annually.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.

• • •

Mahalo from KC

My name is KC and I am a seal
I live in the ocean and I have an appeal
I play in the deep and sleep on the sand
And I would just like you to understand
That being a seal is a gift of my god
He gave me this life, now does that seem odd?
I learned to eat squid and found it quite tasteful
I eat what I want, and I’m not very wasteful
I love to dive deep and swim where I want
I have my own language though to some it sounds blunt
Though my patience is long and my rules may seem few
The pressures I face, O if you only knew
My family is split, some went here, some went there
I guess to people it seems we don’t care
We’re food for the sharks and men without feelings
With them we’d just as soon limit our dealings
We want you to see us and photo us too
Just don’t get too close, ‘cause I don’t know you
We heard you went down to the Senate to vote
First time ever got Tako stuck in my throat
You mean to say you all did that for us?
I’m so glad to hear no one put up a fuss
We’re fun and we’re playful our boundaries are few
But Hawaii state mammelhood is long overdue

Mahalo a me kapono kahiko
KC

Here's how it was in June 2006

let's say it together "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww"

June 06, 2006 Monk Seal and Pup on North Shore Needs Volunteer Help For the next 5-6 weeks, volunteers are needed to help monitor and watch over a mother monk seal and her brand new pup on the north shore near Turtle Bay. There are 3 shifts (daily): 8am-12noon; 12noon-4pm; and 4pm-sunset (around 7:30-ish). If you'd like to get involved or find out more information, please call David Schofield at NOAA Fisheries at 721-5343. "The Hawaiian monk seal population is currently estimated at only 1,300 - 1,400 animals."

Now here we are again when it appears there will be new pup Monks on the horizon. There are more volunteers now than there were then so we'll see how many pups get borned and how many we get to know over the next few years. This is gonna be fun.

Facts about Hawaii

On August 21st, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared Hawaii to be the 50th state in the union. Learn more about The ALOHA State. (state's nickname). Glad we didn't get statehood before Alaska. We would be called Hawaii 4 9! Somehow doesn't fit!
Think you know about the Aloha State? Take a short Quiz

The flag was adopted in 1959, the flag has eight stripes of alternation red, white and blue that represent the eight major islands. Nihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii.

The State seal also adopted that year includes the state Motto.
The state coat of arms in in the center, with a figure of King Kamehameha I to the left and the Goddess of Liberty on the right.
Motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono

Capital City: Honolulu, on the island of Oahu

Bird: Nene Goose

Song: Hawaii Ponoi words by: Kalakaua, music by: Henri Berger
The (unofficial) State Fish: the Hawaiian Trigger fish. The actual name is Humuhumunukunukuapua`a.

Now here's the kicker, State Mammal: Humpback Whale. This may be changing as of from yesterday. We are now one step closer to having the Hawaiian Monk Seal in place to become the State Mammal. check out www.monksealmania blogsite to see how the voting went. Everybody votes to make the Monk Seal the State Mammal. Now I understand that it goes to a vote in the House and then we've won the battle. Now here are some more interesting facts about Hawaii:

Tree: Kukui - Candlenut adopted 5-1-59

Highest Point: Mauna Kea @ 13,796 feet. From the bottom of the ocean it's the highest mountain in the world. Mt. Everest is a bit higher when measured from sea level!
Lowest Point: along the shore lines.
Hawaii's Population: 1,224,398 estimate in 2001, now 7 years later . . . there's more!

The State flower is the Yellow Hibiscus
Island flowers and colors: Niihau - Pupu Shell - White ~ Kauai - Mokihana (Green Berry) - Purple ~ Oahu - Ilima -Yellow ~ Maui - Lokelani (Pink Cottage Rose) - Pink ~ Molokai - White Kukui Blossom - Green ~ Lanai - Kaunaoa (Yellow and Orange Air Plant) - Orange ~ Kahoolawe - Hinahina (Beach Heliotrope) - Grey ~ Big Island of Hawaii - Lehua Ohia - Red
Hawaii's Area Code: 808 Governor: Linda Lingle (R)
Hawaii's Industries include, tourism, canning, clothing and sugar
Hawaii's Fishing Industries: Swordfish, Bigeye tuna, mahi mahi, Ono and variousl bottom fish.
Hawaii's Manufacturing: printed materials, food products, and petroleum products.
Hawaii's Agriculture includes: coffee, flowers, fruits & vegetables and used to have sugar and pineapple.

Here are some interesting facts about Hawaii:
Location: 25.002N, 167.998W
From tip to tip, Hawaii is the widest state in the United States
There are four counties in Hawaii (Kauai; city and county of Honolulu; Maui; and Hawaii). Each city has a mayor and council in charge.

There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet. Vowels: A, E, I, O, U Consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, W. Now you know why "Wheel of Fortune" doesn't work in Hawaii!

Hawaii is the only state that is not part of the the mainland of North America.
I believe that Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee
It used to be that One-third of the world's commercial supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii
Hawaii is the most isolated population center on earth. Hawaii is 2,390 miles from California; 4,900 miles from China; 3,850 miles from Japan; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.
Hawaii has its own time zone (Hawaiian Standard Time.) There is no daylight savings time. The time runs 2-3 hours behind Pacific Standard Time and 5-6 hours behind Eastern Standard Time. Remember this when calling to the islands or from the islands.
Hawaii was once an independent monarchy. Polynesian monarchs rules the islands for 99 years, 1795-1894. The islands became republic. No other state has had this form of government.

In Hawaii, there are no racial or ethnic majorities, everyone is a minority. Caucasians (Haoles) constitute about 34%; Japanese-American about 32%; Filipino-American about 16% and Chinese-American about 5%. It is very difficult to determine racial identification as most of the population has some mixture of ethnicities, (Hapa).

The island of OAHU:
Honolulu is the nation's 11th largest metropolitan area and is made of two volcanoes;Waianae and KoOlau. KoOlau is the younger of the two.
As of the time of this writing/research, the world's largest wind generator is on the Northern Shore of Oahu. The windmill has two blades 400 feet long on the top of a tower twenty stories high.
Iolani Palace is the only royal palace in the United States.
KoOlau Golf Course is suppose to be the Nations most challenging course.
Honolulu is the largest city in the world -- it has the longest borders. Honolulu is about 1,500 miles long or more distance than halfway across the 48 contiguous states. According to the state constitution any island (or islet) not named as belonging to a county belongs to Honolulu. This makes all islands within the Hawaiian Archipelago, that stretch to Midway Island (1,500 miles northwest of Hawaii) part of Honolulu. Kind of a geotechno cheating way to place in this category.
The Royal Hawaiian Hotel is the second oldest hotel. It's well spotted for it's color, Pink.
At one time the Aloha Tower was the tallest building in Hawaii. It stands 14 stories tall. Cruise ships still visit the islands at the Tower.


The island of HAWAII
Kilauea Iki is the world's largest and most active volcano.
The Big Island is Hawaii's largest (single island) at 4,038 square miles. It is twice the size of all other Hawaiian Islands combined.
The southernmost point in the United States is located at 18:54:49 N 155:41:00 W. It is located on the Island of Hawaii, it's name is Ka Lae. There is a constant 27 knots per hour wind blowing east to west, 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. A Green Beach is about a 3 mile hike from this location.
Hawaii is the worldwide leader in harvesting macadamia nuts and orchids
Parker Ranch near Kamuela on the island of Hawaii is the largest ranch in the United States . It has about 480,000 acres of land.
Hawaii has 10 different climate zones.
The world's biggest telescope and more scientific observatories in one place than anywhere else in the world.

Other islands:
Hulope Bay off of Lanai is a marine preserve and considered one of the best diving spots in the world.
The Island of Kahoolawae was once used as a target by the U.S. Navy and Air Force the services are cleaning up unexploded shells. The island consists of an uninhabited area of 45 square miles. You must get permission to go ashore.
Maui: Haleakala Crater, found here and claims the world's largest dormant volcano.
Kauai: Waialeale Mountain, found on the Garden isle of Kauai, averages 488 inches of rain per year and is considered the wettest spot on earth.
Molokai has the world's highest sea cliffs, Hawaii's longest waterfall, and the largest white sand beach in the state.
Niihau is privately owned by the Robinson family. There is a population of 230 and it's 69 square miles. It is mostly used for cattle ranching.

For other interesting facts about Hawaii E me and I will send you to the links of your choice. All these facts were current as of a couple of years ago. My how things change.

Aloha

Volunteers using Nextel

FYI: If there are any volunteers that are on Nextel, my ID is 184*1*9336.

Monk Seal Watch Zones

This is the map to the various seal watch zones. North Shore Monks that I watch over are noted in zones 1-3. All zones are currently being monitored. To check which zones are being monitored in your area check out the map as provided by http://www.monksealmania.blogspot.com/
http://onuma.com/short.php?s=r1a3caki

N.S. Hawaiian Monk Seal Count Set

A Hawaiian monk seal count has been set for sections 1-3 meeting at a Waimea Bay residence on Saturday April 19 at 9:15. Should be interesting. Hope we have a good turn out.

KC on Laniakea April 16, 2008

KC visits Laniakea Wednesday April 16. She didn't want to stay too long. She was only on the beach for about 3 hours. My wife and I took the pictures and roped off the area. Turtles and Monk Seals love this spot at Lani's. Their frequent returns has made this location a tourist attraction for the visitors and a nightmare for those in traffic. Here's a couple of clear posts showing how we identify KC aka RK-28. Look for the cookie cutter shark bites on her back and the tatoo of N-14 on her okole.

For more on all the Monk Seals in Hawaii, all the Monks that have been named and pictures of them, check out the monksealmania.blogspot.com

Hawaiian Monk Seal Interesting Facts - Article

ENDANGERED SPECIES
Hawaiian Monk Seal Lysan AlbatrossOahu Elepaio Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Monk seal Monachus schauinslandi IUCN STATUS CATEGORY: Endangered in the 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is considered the most endangered seal in U.S. waters, with only about 1,200 left.(The most endangered seal in the world is another species of monk seal, the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), of which there are only about 600 seals left in the Mediterranean. The Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis), a third species of monk seal, is now extinct! ) GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD: Hawaiian monk seals are mainly found in the northwest (Leeward) part of the Hawaiian Islands. Other main populations occur at Kure Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Islands, Laysan Island, and the French Frigate Shoals. The stocks at the Midway Islands have been reduced to a few individuals. Small breeding populations occur at the Necker and Nihoa Islands. NORMAL DIET: They eat octopus, lobsters and many reef fish, including eels. SIZE and WEIGHT: They can grow up to seven feet long, and weigh between 400 and 600 pounds. AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY: They can live as long as 30 years. HABITAT: They spend a lot of time at sea sometimes as long as a month. They are able to dive 600 feet deep, and can stay under water for up to 20 minutes. The seals are born on land. Every year, usually in May or June, females find sandy beaches and give birth to a single pup. Adults have gray or brown fur, and babies are black. Sharks are natural predators to the monk seals. The female seals avoid beaches where the water becomes deep very quickly because this lets sharks swim close to land and catch the seals. Mothers take care of their pups for six weeks. During that entire time, they do not leave the beach even to eat. Instead, they live off of fat that they have stored up over the previous year and feed their pups with a fat rich milk. After six weeks, the mother leaves her pup on the beach and the young seal must go out to sea and start to find food for itself. Usually seals can be found with their pups on very remote beaches. However, recent births have been reported in the main Hawaiian Islands including Kauai and Molokai. A single individual was born on Oahu’s North Shore in 1991. NORMAL LIFESTYLE: Hawaiian Monk Seals are solitary both in the water and on shore. Groups form on beaches because of favourable environmental conditions rather than a sense of gregariousness. The Hawaiian monk seal does not actively migrate, individuals usually remain at their natal beach. Inter-island migration occurs but is rare. REASONS FOR DECLINE: The species was driven close to extinction through exploitation for oil, meat and pelts. The sealing brig "Aiona" was thought to have taken the last of the monk seals in 1824. Some seals escaped this kill and there was a report of the bark "Gambia" taking a further 1,500 skins in 1859. CURRENT THREATS: Hawaiian Monk Seals are very sensitive to disturbance. The development of commercial fisheries in the inner reef and reef slope waters of the northwestern Hawaiian islands has been has been identified as the primary factor in the decline of the species. Lost fishing gear may pose a serious threat to the seals, as they often get tangled in the nets and other trash in the oceans. Also, It has been suggested that the fish that seals eat have been reduced by fishermen and by changes in weather patterns like the El Niño event. If these threats were not enough, at present there also is an uneven sex ratio, with more males than females; and during the mating season, a number of aggressive males will attack and sometimes "gang-rape" females until they are badly injured or eventually killed. This behavior is known as mobbing, and was identified as a primary cause of high female mortality and the reduction in reproductive potential in some breeding populations of monk seals. and This is particularly evident at Laysan and Lisianski islands. CONSERVATION PROJECTS: Several measures have been developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the federal agency in charge of the management and protection of the Untied States' marine resources, to save the species from extinction. The majority of the Hawaiian Monk Seals breeding habitat is protected. The Headstart Program has been devised to increase female pup survival. The NMFS brought several abandoned or partly weaned female pups to Oahu for rehabilitation. After 6 months of feeding and fattening under human care, seals were released to other sites where they had a better chance for survival. This programme has been very successful to date. In 1991, 14 out of 20 pups released at Kure Atoll reached maturity and several had pupped. The IUCN/SSC Seal Specialist Group also recommended the following conservation measures: continuation recovery activities, reduction of mobbing behaviour of male monk seals (possibly by suppression of testosterone levels), research to determine monk seal foraging and movement patterns and monitoring and mitigating the impacts of fishing.

Monks - French Frigate Shoals - Article

Posted on: Monday, June 5, 2006
Hawaiian monk seals in crisis
By Jan TenBruggencateAdvertiser Science Writer

A Hawaiian monk seal rests at French Frigate Shoals, once home base for half the seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Today the archipelago's seal population has fallen, and only a third are at French Frigate Shoals.
NOAA Fisheries Service photo
REPORTER GOES TO SEA
Editor's note: Advertiser science writer Jan TenBruggencate accompanied the scientific expedition of the NOAA ship Hi'ialakai into the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This is his final report from the trip.

A fat Hawaiian monk seal at French Frigate Shoals rests a flipper on its mother's neck as mom and pup snooze on the beach. This is a sight that researchers who are monitoring the alarmingly fast decline of the Hawaiian monk seal population are happy to see.
NOAA Fisheries Service photo

NOAA Fisheries seal team member Aaron Dietrich examines a seal found dead Wednesday on East Island at French Frigate Shoals. It was the 14th seal death at French Frigate Shoals this year.
JAN TENBRUGGENCATE The Honolulu Advertiser

EAST ISLAND, French Frigate Shoals — A newborn seal pup lay still on the sand as its mother patrolled back and forth in the water, vocalizing in the hoarse bark mother seals use to call their pups.
On the blindingly white coral sand, her pup, its black pelt still glossy in the midmorning sun, was dead — another defeat in the continuing war against extinction for these majestic marine mammals.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries monk seal team conducted a necropsy that afternoon, checking the 22-pound pup for obvious physical problems and preserving critical organs and tissue samples for later examination by veterinarians and laboratories.
The animal appeared to be stillborn, its umbilical cord and placenta lying next to the body. The preliminary report was that it may have been premature, that its skull was not fully developed and that it was smaller than normal for a seal at birth.
It has been a rough year for monk seal researchers. This was the 8th death at French Frigate Shoals, where the number of monk seals continues to plummet.
"Monk seals are now in a crisis situation," said Bud Antonelis, chief of the protected species division at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
There may have been as many as 3,000 Hawaiian monk seals across the Hawaiian archipelago in the 1950s. In the mid-1980s, half the population was at French Frigate Shoals. Today, the population is between 1,200 and 1,300, and only a third or so are at French Frigate, where the decline has been most disturbing.
"The numbers are now at the lowest point in recorded history," Antonelis said. "And we could have less than 1,000 in five years."
"It's dire right now, and we know it's going to get worse," said Suzanne Canja, who heads NOAA's monk seal team at French Frigate Shoals.
The seal pup survival rate was so low during most of the 1990s that there are few new females ready to take the place of females getting too old to reproduce. As a result, NOAA Fisheries has taken such extraordinary steps to protect twin female seal pups from Midway Atoll that were weaned too small. They've been brought to Honolulu to fatten up, in hopes that they can be released big and healthy to re-enter the wild population there.
BREEDING GROUNDS LOST
With Hawaiian monk seals, it's not that researchers don't have a clue what's going on with them. It may be that they have too many clues.
Here's one: Half a century ago, there were more than 110 acres of sandy island area in French Frigate Shoals, a 22-mile crescent of reefs with a dozen named islets. Today there are fewer than 40 acres, and five of the 12 islets are less than a tenth of an acre. Several of them occasionally disappear entirely.
One of the disappearing islands is aptly named Disappearing Island. But the one that concerns Antonelis the most is Whale-Skate.
In the past, it has sometimes been two separate islands, Whale and Skate, and sometimes the sandbars connect the two to form one. Photos taken during the 1960s show it vegetated with a large seabird nesting population.
"Whale-Skate was the prime pupping site on French Frigate. In the early 1990s most of the females breeding at French Frigate Shoals were there. In the mid-'90s it started eroding and in 1998, it washed entirely away," Antonelis said.
When The Advertiser visited last week, it was a little mound of sand, and seals and turtles ringed it flipper to flipper.
There is no consensus on whether a rise in sea levels, new current patterns or something else has caused the drop in French Frigate Shoals' acreage, but NOAA's Jason Baker has issued a report suggesting that anticipated rises in sea levels during the next century will make issues worse.
The team at French Frigate says the biggest problem for the seals is surviving to adulthood. During the 1990s, pups were dying because they were too thin. This might have been because their mothers weren't feeding well enough. That in turn might have resulted from a variety of factors: a decline in atoll productivity, more aggressive competition from other predators such as sharks and ulua, or even perhaps a collapse of the lobster population.
Antonelis calls it an "inability to forage successfully," for whatever reason.
NEW PREDATOR ARRIVES
As Whale-Skate was washing away, a new problem arose. A group of Galapagos sharks developed a pattern that seal researchers said was new. They started aggressively patrolling the shallow water around Trig Island, where many of the Whale-Skate moms had moved, and started killing baby seals.
"The biggest population right now is on Trig, and we could lose 25 pups there to sharks," said seal team member Dan Luers.
That's how many were taken in 1998. The numbers taken have dropped since then, partly because 12 Galapagos sharks, individually identified as threats to monk seals were removed, and because the seal team is moving newly weaned pups from Trig to Tern Island, where there's less of a shark problem.
There are other problems for the seals, but if pupping habitat continues to decline, there will be little hope, Antonelis said. He is proposing a study of ways to restore some of the habitat at French Frigate Shoals — perhaps using the same kind of sand replenishment proposed for Waikiki Beach to rebuild Whale-Skate Island.
"Habitat loss is certainly a serious concern, and we need to learn more about it," Antonelis said. "We really don't have too many options."
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Eight Hawaiian monk seals — six pups and two juveniles — have died or are missing at the National Wildlife Refuge at French Frigate Shoals this year. Also, 12 Galapagos sharks, which were individually identified as threats to monk seals, have been removed from the area in recent years. Information in a previous version of this story was incorrect.

Hawaii's Native Seal - Article

HAWAII'S NATIVE SEAL
Author: Patrick ChingIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua is the name used to describe the Hawaiian monk seal. Literally it means, "the dog that runs in the rough (seas)." These seals get their common name "monk seals" because of their bald appearance, solitary habits and a fold of skin behind their heads which resembles a monk's hood. In recorded history there have only been four seals born on the main Hawaiian islands. Two of those births occurred in 1991 on the North shores of Oahu and Kauai. In both cases, volunteers from the community guarded the mother and pup from a distance to ensure that they would not be disturbed. A newborn pup is jet black in color and weighs about 30 pounds. Its loose, velvety skin cloaks its body like an over sized coat. A mother seal will nurse her pup for a period of five or six weeks. During that time she is constantly at her pup's side and does not go off to feed herself. At the end of the nursing period the depleted mother will leave her pup to tend to her own nutritional needs. The newly weaned pup, called a weaner, is by then fat with blubber. It can live off of its stored fat for a while but must soon learn to catch food on its own. Monk seals feed largely on fish, eels, octopus, and lobster that they usually catch at night. In the daylight hours, the seals spend much of their time sleeping. When on land, they may look lethargic, sick or even dead. Actually, the seals come ashore to get their much needed rest and should not be disturbed or approached. For more information about Hawaii's native seal read The Hawaiian Monk Seal (University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1994) by Patrick Ching.Born and raised in Hawai'i, Patrick Ching has spent a lifetime getting to know native flora and fauna of the islands. Ching works part time for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and has written and illustrated several books on Hawaiian animals. Monk seals are an endangered species. Most of them inhabit the tiny islands and atolls which lay to the northwest of the main Hawaiian islands. In recent years, however, monk seals are being sighted around the main islands with increasing regularity.
Photo Credits:Photo1: Patrick Ching, Photo2: Nick Galante

Fronting Haleiwa Surf

Never got a good description of this big guy. Back when I took the pictures, I didn't know what to look for. You can tell from the dated pics when they were taken . . . well, if you can read digital that is! The first picture shows how far up the beach this guy went. I think he was heading for the shade.

Papailoa Wednesday April 9

Here's one of one on Papailoa. Tracy said by the markings it was Honey Girl. Here's some pictures. of what I saw.

KC by Haleiwa Surf Condominiums

I spotted KC about a month before I started as a volunteer for NOAA. I took the pictures and then learned just who KC was. All this time I thought she was called N-14 because of the markings on her okole! She stayed on the beach all day until sunset. Then the next picture is a video of when she went into the water. Let's hope this comes out OK.