January 31, 2019 Monk Seal Dailies

Todays dailies are brought to you by Team Billand and Melody.  

Team Billand started their day when the moon was still bright and a star in the sky over KoOlina. Although they didn't spot any seals they did see some interesting sightings along the way.  There were the Hawaiian Stilts, a tractor and the sperm whale decomposing.  Team Billand met with a few folks from UH, Dr. Kristi from HPU and David from NOAA, at the site with the whale.  
I know many have been following this on the news, actually quite

sad to see this magnificent creature laying in waste.  However there is a real concern over people disrespecting the remains and since they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, there are people keeping an eye on its remains.

Finally about 10:30ish Team Billand found Kekoa Alii RK72 and Kawena RH36 already hauled out on lower rocks. Kawena was to the left and Kekoa above her.  Both were sleeping until Kekoa started looking at the surf, and soon after the huge waves started coming in, covering them both. 

At one point the waves moved Kekoa around and Kawena moved up to him for safety. Both were fine and settled in together.

Team Billand did the Ka'ena West Trek and found a little critter tucked in solid between rocks. They didn't have much to go on, but on their way out took another peek. He was still there and finally there was a tag K88, little Puna.

On their way home they stopped by to check in on Kekoa and Kawena and to their surprise there was R3CU hauled out next to them. Team Billand has seen him many times in the area but he never landed before.  At first he went up to Kekoa, who whooped him a little. Then he went to bug Kawena, and she whooped him too.  So he just snuggled between the two.

Just before 7 this morning Melody went down to the beach to check on Rocky and she was still there in the exact same place as last evening.  Just about 30 minutes later she started snorting and got restless. A few minutes later, she jumped up as if something bit or startled her, that was her cue and off to the water she went. She spent a few minutes foraging and then disappeared over a wave and into deep waters beyond the reefs.

Melody spent the afternoon as a HMSPO (Hawaiian Monk Seal Preservation Ohana) volunteer to help out watching over and protecting the Sperm whale carcass. The folks from Marine Biology Marine Mammal Stranding Lab were on site sharing their knowledge and experience.

On her way home Melody stopped off at another westside beach and found good ole' Buster V08 who had hauled up on shore a short time ago. The lifeguards already had a SRA set up and a volunteer had just arrived. Buster is looking very healthy and was enjoying his rest. 

oh the things we see

 Kekoa and Kawena

Puna

 R3CU, Kekoa and Kawena

Rocky

Buster