MonkSealMania.blogspot.com: 9/3/2018 Monk Seal Dailies (part 2) Lesley's Ka'ena Update

Monday, September 3, 2018

9/3/2018 Monk Seal Dailies (part 2) Lesley's Ka'ena Update

If yesterday was busy today was BUSY.

From extremely early when I first stepped down on the beach I didn't have more than 2 to 3 minutes for myself. I thought it was a shopping day and people were in malls spending, spending, spending. I was wrong because those who didn't go there were here at KPt.

Just to give you an idea for every vehicle that came out this morning, 2 or 3 went in. My outreach was close to a 3 digit number.

So outreach count is not the amount of people that entered the gate, or asked where the toilets are. Outreach is counted by the number of people you interact with, talking about the park, the wildlife and the plants.

In the seal world:

RG40 "Holokai" spent another night here in front. In the afternoon when I checked he was still here. Beach was packed and he wasn't in the least disturbed.

As I was coming down the road at the entrance of the park towards the costal road I saw a small seal on the beach, there was no one there yet so I went and check on something else and came back. A shell picker was just hanging off from calling the Hotline. I IDed RK88 "Puna", called him in and asked for a volunteer to be sent out. The Big Beach beside the Pkg Lot always has lots of people passing by. I stayed for as long as I could, as I had to move on I asked 2 small kids if they could help me (since they couldn't go shelling). I did a perimeter on the sand with a stick and told them if they could pick up sticks we could lay them down and do a line. I did part of it with them and left. When I came back hours later Mark a HMAR volunteer was there. The original line of sticks had turned into a fence by other people.

I'd like to take the opportunity to explain (or refresh minds) why we do not do perimeters with sticks as a fence - seals move around and don't need to go over man made fences. If sticks are laying on the sand they are visible to people and very effective.

Stones should never be used - landscape should not be altered. If those totems of stones come to your mind, yes we do take them down when we see them. They could be a hazard for other people or even to the marine life that comes up on shore to bask in the sun.

At 10Mnts Beach R330 "Squinty" was hauled out sleeping. He spent all they there.

Just as I was arriving at Dragon Rock Cove I saw visitors looking down at the beach. There was something there. I got there on time to see RN58 "Luana" entering the water and leaving - she may have overnighted.

In the NARS - RK36 "Kauai Kolohe" was doing having a hippo session in BG's Pool. I love those scars... on his second breath I IDed him. Later I got the under water tag from up on the cliff. But today it was blurry.

RO40 "Ka'ena" was in his pool, corned between his favorite rocks.

Looking forward for it to be calmer out there tomorrow.

Hope you had a nice long weekend