6/30/2017 Rocky & PO3 Make International News - UPDATE !!!

Well well well seems as though Rocky's giving birth has made international news.... (and it didn't come from the blog)...  I hope some good comes out of our Momma giving birth in such a public place.  But I had to laugh when a friend sent me this link....  Why Germany... I haven't a clue.

http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/hawaii-robben-geburt-am-waikiki-beach-a-1155226.html

Carola if you are reading this please feel free to interpret for us. CAROLA CAME THROUGH WITH THE FOLLOWING: 

SEAL PUPPING IN MIDST OF A TOURIST BEACH

A seal of a rare species gave birth to her pup, in the middle of the busy beach of Waikiki. Numerous tourists are marveling at the seal mom ‘Rocky’ and her Baby. 

When Hawaiian seals give birth, they normally retreat to other secluded areas. However, a female had different plans in the night of Wednesday to Thursday (local time). The seal called ‘Rocky’ decided to have her pup on the beach of Waikiki. The local beach of Hawaii’s capital Honolulu must be one of the world’s most famous beaches - so, attention was certainly assured to mom and pup. 

The two attracted countless tourists admiring this rare spectacle. Volunteers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the American Weather- and Oceanography Authority, kept visitors at distance and put up waring signs. 

The mystery of the birthplace

Biologists are already familiar with ‘Rocky’. She has been residing in the waters of Oahu since 2002, one of the 8 main islands of the Hawaii Archipels. She was born 17 years ago in the ocean of Kauai, another Hawaiian Island, informed NOAA’s Angela Amlin. Why the mammal now picked the beach of Waikiki is baffling experts. 

Furthermore this is the first Monk Seal birth on a busy tourist beach, since NOAA began to document the seals distribution area (living habitat) and movement in the seventies. 

Hawaiian Monk Seals are considered an endangered species. The animals are endemic, hence they only occur in Hawaii. According to estimates there are approximately 1400 HMS left in the wild. The pups are approximately 1 meter long at birth. They are nursed by the mother five to seven weeks. 

End of the Article………...