Iconic ‘Honey Girl’ Monk Seal Found Dead on O‘ahu

Honey Girl and her pup Makoa, who also died last year. Photo courtesy of NOAA

For more than 20 years, the sight of monk seal R5AY, known as Honey Girl, delighted hundreds of people, as she rested on and gave birth to at least a dozen pups on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu beaches. NOAA fisheries received notification that she was found dead on a windward O‘ahu beach on April 23, according to a news release from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“We are deeply saddened that Honey Girl, one of the most iconic representatives of her entire endangered native endemic Hawaiian species, will no longer grace beaches around O‘ahu. Her legacy calls for our collective respect and care for all our Hawaiian monk seals,” DLNR Chair Suzanne Case said.

Her cause of death is not apparent. However, leading causes of deaths for monk seals in the main Hawaiian island is toxoplasmosis, a disease spread by feral cats, and drowning when seals get caught up in illegal lay nets. Toxoplasmosis was the cause of death of two seals so far in 2020.

Honey Girl’s last pup, Makoa, who also died last year. Photo courtesy of NOAA

Additionally, Honey Girl had lost her last pup last year. Makoa, a male Hawaiian monk seal also known as RL36, had been recently weaned, and was found dead on the North Shore of Oʻahu on Nov. 9. NOAA officials were unable to identify a definitive cause of death from examination and initial necropsy results. Tissue samples were taken for further examination to look for causes of death that could not be detected during the necropsy.  Makoa was born to Honey Girl and was given his nickname, which means fearless or brave, by local elementary school children.

The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement assisted NOAA in transporting Honey Girl’s body to Kualoa Ranch for burial, where a pule, or blessing, was performed by a Hawaiian cultural practitioner. The City and County of Honolulu Roads Maintenance Division and Hawai‘i Marine Mammal Rescue also assisted.