11/10/2018 Monk Seal Dailies: (part 1)

Today's dailies are brought to you by Team Billand,  Marilyn, Lesley and Dana.  Lesley's complete Ka'ena Update is part two of the dailies.

Dana sent an email with some good news on what happens when working partnerships and collaborate efforts make a difference.  As many of you know Dana heads up the Hawaiian Monk Seal Preservation Ohana which received a gift from the Malama na Honu organization.  Apparently a very talented seamstresses and Debbie Herrera created a colony of monk seal moms and pups. 
Kathy Brown and her team have been using them in their classroom presentation program for the kids. I know from experience they are a big hit.  Kathy has been leading the classroom program for the last 12 years and is responsible for thousands of keiki learning about Hawaiian monk seals.  Thank you to Malama Honu and all the volunteer seamstresses, Kathy Brown, and Dana for all your hard work because we know that "Knowledge is the power to change the monk seal world and save this species. And this is what working together is all about."  Dana Jones

Marilyn went to the pier this afternoon for an hour. The rain this morning made it near impossible for viewing and this afternoon's wind and overcast conditions made photographs a challenge.  In spite of that Marilyn did see three seals on Rabbit Island.
Seal #1 and Seal #2 were 30-40 feet Lanikai side of the 1BS and both had their heads facing the water.
Seal #1 - larger size, newer coat, located partially in the morning glory.  Marilyn wasn't able to get any ID.
Seal #2 - juvenile to sub-adult size, newer coat. No other ID markers.
Seal #3 - subadult to adult with older coat - located in front of the 3BS. No other ID markers.
Not much to go on today..... maybe she'll have better luck tomorrow.

Team Billand also skipped the morning and went out in the afternoon. They found Ka'ale RH32 asleep on the rocks, looking fat and content. He was in one of his usual haul outs safe with no new marks.

Their next find was a little seal clean with tags. They were able to ID RH92 but became concerned over how many dogs were around, lots of puppies on the loose and the older dogs tied up.  There is a camp right in the area where the dogs are, many of them barking. Team Billand called the hotline to inform them of RH92s location and all the loose dogs.

Team Billand were surprised to find Lei Ola RH48 in a new location. They almost missed her as she was hidden in the bushes. She was comfortable resting on the rocks, looking healthy.  

 monk seals in the house

 seals 1 and 2 

 seal 3

Ka'ale 

 RH92 little Kauai Girl 

Lei Ola