Hawaiian Monk Seals 
Returned to Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (w/ video)

Kure Atoll, where two young Hawaiian monk seals were returned late March, after spending five months in rehabilitation at a Big Island facility.

Two critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals were successfully returned March 25 to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument after being rehabilitated at The Marine Mammal Center’s Ke Kai Ola Hawaiian Monk Seal Hospital in Kona, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The seals were rescued last year in an emaciated state — one on Kure Atoll and another on Laysan Island — during NOAA Fisheries Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program’s field camp season.

“The successful rehabilitation and release of these young seals demonstrates the collaboration and innovation that will be necessary to save Hawaiian monk seals from extinction,” said Dr. Rachel Sprague, NOAA Fisheries’ Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Coordinator.

She said the dedicated efforts displayed by all parties involved — NOAA, The Marine Mammal Center, U.S. Coast Guard, DLNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — show how it will take everyone to help to protect the endangered seals.

“As a result of our intervention, two young female monk seals are now returning home to a bright future where they can contribute to the recovery of their species,” Sprague said.

The two juvenile females, Pua ‘Ena O Ke Kai (Fiery Child of the Sea) and Meleana (Continuous Song), or Pua and Mele for short, were transported in September aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette to the Ke Kai Ola hospital in Kona, established by The Marine Mammal Center in mid-2014. Once there, staff and volunteers at the center spent five months nursing the animals from their malnourished state to the fat healthy seals they are now. Now these females have a better chance of surviving their first two years of life and may grow to have their own pups.

The monk seals arriving at Midway Atoll to be transported to Kure Atoll.

Shortly after the hospital opened last year, Ke Kai Ola staff and volunteers also rehabilitated four other young seals, which were returned to French Frigate Shoals and Laysan Island within the monument in September. In less than a year of the new hospital’s opening, it has made a significant difference in the future of these young seals, which would almost certainly have died without rehabilitation, according to DLNR.

“With 40 years of experience caring for seals and sea lions, The Marine Mammal Center is a primary authority on preventing the extinction of the Hawaiian monk seal,” says Dr. Shawn Johnson, Director of Veterinary Science at the center. “After providing Mele and Pua with life-saving medical care, we’re proud to partner with NOAA Fisheries, the Coast Guard, the state of Hawai‘i and the Monument to release these healthy seals back to their ocean home.”

The monk seals arriving at Kure Atoll.

A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft crew from Air Station Barbers Point on Oʻahu picked up the seals in Kona and flew them to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on March 18. On March 20, the seals were loaded onto the offshore supply ship Kahana and departed for Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary, at the northernmost point in the Hawaiian archipelago, about 1,350 miles northwest of Honolulu.

From the pickup in Kona until their release, the seals were monitored around the clock. Scientists from NOAA Fisheries and The Marine Mammal Center cared for the seals during transport and at Midway Atoll.

Once on Kure Atoll, Pua and Mele spent a couple days in an enclosure to get used with the surroundings before being released back into the wild.

After arrival at Kure Atoll on March 21, they were watched over by biologists from NOAA Fisheries and DLNR until their release on March 25.

“The Coast Guard works closely with NOAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect marine mammals and endangered species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act,” said LT Lauren Gillikin, HC-130 aircraft commander. “By promoting the conservation of these mammals the Coast Guard helps to preserve the existing ecosystem.”

The Hawaiian monk seal is critically endangered, with fewer than 1,100 individuals in the wild, including about 900 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Fewer than one in five Hawaiian monk seal pups in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands survive their first year due to threats like starvation, entanglement in marine debris, male aggression due to abnormally small population size, and more. NOAA Fisheries implements numerous strategies to combat these threats; their monk seal recovery program is the most proactive marine mammal conservation initiative in the world. At least 30 percent of the Hawaiian monk seal population is alive today because of the collaborative efforts to help save them.

Hawaiian monk seals transported from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the Kona facility for rehabilitation may only be released back to the NWHI. Release at Kure Atoll is favorable given its recent good survival rates for young seals and opportunities for weekly visual surveys by DLNR staff stationed there. Seal movements will also be tracked via satellite for post-release monitoring.

Visit www.MarineMammalCenter.org or www.papahanaumokuakea.gov for more information.

https://vimeo.com/album/3330181/video/123826006