Sad News from the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program

Aloha All. 
We have some sad and disappointing news to share today regarding the death of RL26, an 11-month old female seal that was brought in for emergency care last Friday. She was extremely underweight and recovering from wounds that were likely inflicted by a shark. These wounds were healing, but some of them were found to impact the underlying bone and likely caused further debilitation. Over the last 4 days, the malnourished and dehydrated seal showed slight signs of improvement while receiving supportive medical care, but may have progressed too far to respond to the best efforts of the HMSRP veterinary team. As of Tuesday afternoon (5/21) veterinarians and scientists have completed a necropsy (animal autopsy) and found no outstanding evidence for the cause of death. Samples will be sent to pathologists and other diagnostic laboratories around the nation to screen for viruses, bacteria, toxins and other underlying causes of her illness, susceptibility to attack, and subsequent death. Thanks to all the folks that made her capture and care possible, especially volunteers, National Park Service, the Monk Seal Foundation and Waikiki Aquarium.