5/7/2018 Lesley's BIG Update:

Well I guess it's out that we have had our hands full with the new 2 pups, to sisters and first time moms

RN58 "Luana" gave birth to PO4 (today D9)on Sunday April 29th around 11:30 am. Straight away mum took to the pup as if she had done it many times before.

RL42 decided that being around her youngest sister would be really great and she stuck around for 6 days following them up and down the beach.

On Saturday May 5th we arrived on the beach and there she was with a new born PO5 (today D3). She's also been a really good mother.

During the last 10 days sisters have been visited by RR70 "RIP", RO40 "Ka'ena" and RW02 "PVKauai" luckily they have taken turns coming around. We leave the site with one male there and arrive the next morning to another. 

There's been a great team of people monitoring these seals. We have several weeks ahead of us before weaning then adventure shall pickup big time following those weaners

Some information:

Around the middle of 2011 a big female seal showed up on the North Shore,  our volunteer Jeannie Martinson saw a 761 Bleach on her back. We all thought that was weird, turns out she had been bleached on Nihoa 6 months before.

She moved from Turtle Bay to Sharks Cove then to Ka'ena Pt. Where she showed up with a big hook on her face , a couple of days later the hook was gone with out human intervention. She was given an R912 ID and "Nihoa" as a nickname

    - on July 24th 2011 she gave birth to RL42 (F)

    - on  August 9th 2013 she gave birth to RN58 "Luana" (F)

    - and on June 7th 2016 she gave birth to RH32 "Ka'ale" (M)

Unfortunately a couple of months after weaning "Ka'ale" she died.

Today our team did some work out at the NARS, once we finished I did go and check for seals

When we first drove in we saw RW02 "PVKauai" at Hidden Beach, at the point RO40 "Ka'ena" was at Back Beach, R353 (F)  was sleeping peacefully on some reefs, 2 seals were swimming around but only RR70 "RIP" hauled out beside R353. On our way back we saw that RG40 "Holokai" had hauled out beside RW02 "PVKauai" at Hidden Beach.

I did several other checks on Moms & Pups during the afternoon. In the later afternoon RO40 "Ka'ena" did a quick Haul out at the pup site.

 --- Today's Update ---

PO4 is a small pup, very active and nurses VERY well. He responds straight away to mom Luana' bark . As every pup I have ever seen when there's a interaction of 2 or more adult seals around he goes straight in the middle and vocalizes as well.

We saw him be nibbled (a bite with no hard intention) by it's aunt RL42, RO40 "Ka'ena" and RW02 "PVKauai" - Mom has defended him bravely every time and made the other seals back off.

PO5 was born a bigger size - so both pups have seems to be the same size. Mom RL42 has stopped following her sister and pup around and took her to the side. She has been more mellow and has also shown how loud she can be when another seal gets closer to them.

Today was the first day that there was no action around. Both mom's and pup's were in their own corners of the beach near the waterline.

PO4 played in small reef pool, nursed, slept, circled mom while she slept.

PO5 did lots of circling mom but mom and him weren't synchronized on the presenting to nurse when she presented pup was on her back when he came around she was on her belie then it all started again.