He is beautiful, healthy and grown quite a bit, up to 205 pounds and newly molted. Upon arrival he was very relaxed and traveled with a team of people from USC, NOAA and the Waikiki Aquarium. He was certainly in good hands.
A special shout out to the USCG for their amazing dedication and service, for without them none of this would have been possible.
Today was a very good day! As information and photos are made available I will be sure to keep you all posted.
Welcome home Ho'ailona.
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9 comments:
Yesterday was full of excitement and joy. We had done our usual monk seal searching, finding M and M at Maili Pt. She is looking lovely and plump.
Got this exciting call from Clay Gates about spotting two seals at Iroquios Pt. And Clay said it was dark and he didnt know them. He called me back with an N3 on the female, so I said, that would be Irma, so the other large seal would be Kermit. We couldnt wait to go see for ourselves and so we headed straight to Iroquios. Yep, there they are, the "DYNAMIC DUO", side by side, roped off and signed by Clay Gates, who had just come back from a trip. OH how happy we were the two seals were at Iroquios, a great place to be. Lots of caring folks, good dog owners on leashes. And Clay came through with awesome shots of Irma and kermit.
Ok, we had to tear ourselves from Iroquios, we had a mission, find more seals. But after alot of walking, hunting, no more seals found.
Next Mission? We had to go to the Barbers Pt airport for the exciting arrival of a seal that ment alot to us old guys. KP2 (Ho Ailona) the famous and loved Hawaiian Monk Seal who was abandoned by his own mom in 2008. Well, this seal has grown on all us volunteers, and we had the HONOR of seeing him ONCE MORE.
We had done our search, got to the air station at 11:24, sat in the car as we coulnt enter gates yet. Ate our pizza, MMMMMM. Then the guards let us in to the coast guard station, took us in to the waiting room in the Coast Guard Building. We felt so honored already to be there..the guys were so nice to us. Officer Robert Hormic told us what to expect etc. One by one the NOAA officials arrived, then the volunteers, state people for the inspection of KP's arrival to Hawaii. It was like being at a Hollywood Gala with all the famous NOAA guys and then, we met Terry Williams, KP2's MOM and KP2's new mom, from the aquarium, Kelly. Both beautiful people with much compassion and good souls.
It was fun to talk to DIANE the MOLOKAI QUEEN, what a sweet lady. I missed seeing Val Bloy, HI NEBRASKA, we're thinking of ya. Your in our hearts.
Wendy Goo, David Schofield gave all us guys the do's and donts when KP arrives. NO TALKING TO MEDIA WHATSOEVER!!!!
The Hawaiian Pracitioner arrives with his two beautiful daughters for the blessing ceremony. Jeff Walters, Lisa Croft and more arrive too. This is fun, look at all these folks, caring about ONE LITTLE SEAL, KP2.
After many hours, at a bit before three pm, we were all escorted to the tar mack..there was DE PLANE, landing. OH MY GOD..I had chicken skin to the max.
Planes engines stop, door opens, we were escorted to plane. THERE HE IS, Our beloved seal..KP2, HO AILONA. I cried like a dummy, got my thoughts together and snapped away. Jim Brown video taping it all. News guys on the tar mat, away from us volunteers.
Oh how beautiful a seal KP was..bigger, longer, not a mark on his body. Holy crap, I am pumping with excitement. Coast Guardsmen, volunteers, and others, picked up that huge cage our sweet seal was in, lifted it up into the awaiting truck. It was pure excitement. Kp was carefully sprayed with water after his long journey home...then he was taken to the aquarium..all was done, we all went on our separate ways. What an exciting few minutes...pure joy. Welcome home kid..we missed you. Thanks to all the Santa Cruz guys for taking such good care of this most loved seal..KP2!!! HO AILONA!!!
We were told he'll be in quarinteen for a month..then he will be showed to all of Hawaii, at the Aquarium. I cant wait to see him with out the cage, in a pool, swimming free and being a seal. Love you KP2, I never forgot you, NEVER. Flipper Hugs, B.
I forgot to mention after it was all over, Rob and I went to the plane to thank our Coast Guardmen for all they did for KP...and we took their photo..Its been a great experience for us old guys and for all the volunteers who put in so many hours with KP2..all worth each minute, each hour.
Thanks for sharing your experience Barbara. I saw a lot of the volunteers on the news and KP2 looking well. It's great to have him back and I can't wait see him in his new home. Diane
Welome Diane, had photos, but, got to be cleared by NOAA first. I hope you get to see the pics soon....I tried.
Ok, will our volunteers that werent at the Home Coming of KP ever get to see the shots of KP2's arrival????? I think it would be nice for ALL to see him, we all waited for two years, COME ON, PLEASE. I'm sure everyone is waiting to see how he has changed, grown. Hope its soon...its only fair to the hard working volunteers...Right Guys?????
Right!!!
I read these posts this morning. All day I have been wondering.. Why can't we all see the pictures? It seems kind of strange to me for all this to be hush hush and "top secret". Its just a photo, please explain to me the harm that would come? Is someone going to accuse NOAA and those under their permit of a take?
They're coming.... I know everyone is anxious to see them. It's sometimes hard to remember but there is a protocol that needs to be followed. Ho'ailona's return involves many agencies and facilities... As much as I know there wasn't anything unusual with this transport, there were many things going on behind the scenes.
To be honest the fact volunteers were allowed to participate was huge.... Photos were taken to document the arrival for recording purposes not necessarily for viewing. NOW having said all that, I did receive the okay to post a couple of shots... SO STAY TUNED!!!!
I was just being the devils advocate hoping someone would see my point. I know there are rules...
Stacey
You devil you!
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