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At 0656 I found what would
prove to be Buster (RV08), hiding behind the dunes , 40 ft left of 1BS on Rabbit
Island. When he began to move down at 1150, his big, beautiful N21 bleach came
into view and I could make the ID. He would move down and enter the water at
1216. I did not see him again today.-DB.jpg)
I started
another pass through the SE quadrant and at 1320 I pulled into the Blowhole
Lookout parking lot, and immediately saw off in the distance , an animal at the
east end of Sandy Beach. When I got down there I found Irma (R010) totally
surrounded by hordes of people. I had recieved no calls from Lifeguards, or the
Hotline. It was just pure luck that I happened on to her. According to people
there she had been on the beach for at least an hour and a half , totally on her
own, on a holiday. I managed to get the adoring hordes backed off and got a
cordon up around her. I picked up the rope at 1930. Irma remains. -BB.jpg)
Team Billand called at 0958
with the report of Kermit (R012) fronting #1708 at White Plains.
They had a really nightmare
day again today at Paradise Cove, with Pohaku (RO28) hauling out there. Paradise
Cove has become as bad as White Plains in terms of negative crowd problems, and
to be comparable to WP is really saying something.
At 1340
the Billands reported Noa (R6FI) at Maili Point.
Buster @ Rabbit Island
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Irma @ Sandy Beach
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RO28 @ Paradise Cove
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I honestly understand people's excitement when they see a seal.... and most of them just don't know any better.... in the end we continue to educate the public the best we can... BUT once in a while it would be really nice if people just knew to stay the hell away from these very large wild animals... oh and anytime one of our seal felt like rearing up and showing their big teeth.. that might help too... just saying :-)
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Robert hard at work dealing with the paradise cove crowds
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Such a beautiful animal... too bad she didn't get much rest today
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Noa @ Maili
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Kermit @ White Plains
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thank goodness Kermit is a gentleman and didn't scare the crap out of this little girl.
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3 comments:
It is pure joy to find a seal, resting on shores of Hawaii. But it is PURE HELL when we cant seem to reach some stupid folks who think they know all about a monk seal. Its difficult to deal with some folks who insist going up close to these large mammals, even with signs even with ropes, protecting the innocent seals. We always try to be calm in dealing with situations out there, but, there are times, our efforts dont work at all. And then our hearts are pumping with anger, fear, what may happen one of these days. We try so hard to make folks see, our seals are so precious, and they should get some respect!! Take all the photos, absorb their spirit, but stay back and BE QUIET!! You dont hear a single sound coming from our seals, other than a snort or sneeze, BUT, we hear all kinds of sounds from the humans...all the time. We think of all kinds of things to keep folks back, use props, make our own signs, but its not enough.
Its not just a seal on shore resting...its a protected mmammal, a dying species...whats so hard about leaving them be.
And if more volunteers would help us out on these three day weekends it would be a BLESSING for our seals and us. HELLO????
Pohaku was so sweet yesterday. She is a beautiful girl. Robert and Barbara were having a hard with the bikini lady when I arrived. Fortunately she was taken care of and offered no further problems the rest of the day. Everyone else was very helpful and polite. Many thanks to the lady who brought me a bento to tide me over. The luau folks were setting up around 4pm when I left, but Pohaku seemed to be sleeping through it all. B&R went back to retrieve signs and ropes later on and said there were busloads of luau people, but fortunately no more trouble makers. Whew another day done. Thanks to the Billands for their undying love for these animals. Volunteers are set up for Sat. & Sun. Will the seals show???? who knows. Happy Easter to everyone.
Actually, NO VOLUNTEERS came out on neither Friday, nor Saturday. Friday it was just us and you Miss Dana. Saturday it was just US. So lets see if Sunday will be different...
Lots of times, when you make plans for Volunteers, no seals show up..funny huh??? Never know with the Monks..they fool us all the time.
Thanks for coming out on Friday Dana. Wasnt that FUN???? Hmmmmm.
And yes, when we came back later in the day, after our route was done...we saw all the 13 buses in the lot and went...NO WAY...went to retrieve all the equipment before the crowds came over. There were about 20 people at site, but, all were just fine. And Miss Pohaku remained, hidden quite nicely on the rocks still. We were lucky as the tide was way high, so that was a big help, keeping folks back from the seal.
Just one more day to this three day weekend, we can make it alright!! Usually, Easter Sundays...Fat Boy Kermit shows up, lets see if he will keep his date with us at Plains.
With Chocolate Bunnies, peeps, and colored eggs...B
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