December 7, 2019 Monk Seal Dailies

Today's dailies are brought to you by Team Billand and Marilyn.

Marilyn did the Ka'ena trek this morning with Lesley, but as of now Lesley hasn't sent a report so I'll assume we'll here something tomorrow.   When Marilyn came back from Ka'ena Point she checked a couple of beaches before she headed home and found Mr. Buster RV08. He is a bout 35% into he molt but alot seems really loose so it should move along quickly.  Volunteers had been on site and a zone was set up around him.  
Something new is a "reflector" which Marilyn explained to me was being used to deter any vehicles that are on the beach.  This seems to be a good idea in that there are a few beaches on the island where people drive their 4-wheelers or ATVs and it's ALWAYS nerve wracking when you find tire tracks so close to where a seal is resting.   It would be great if they could just stop the vehicles from being on the beach all together! 

Just before 8:30 am Team Billand was checking out plains where they found Rocky RH58 laying just 10 feet of the life guard tower. The lifeguards were busy putting up a zone around her. Team Billand hung around and educated lots of folks as they came by.  Since there were a lot of people out this beautiful Saturday and there was a group playing football close by, Team Billand called the hotline and updated them.  When the volunteer arrived Team Billand filled her in on who the seal was and left for the day.

At 9:20 this morning Team Billand found Pohaku RO28 at Kermits Reef. She was half dry and half wet.  There were two dogs off leash and one on leash, along with fishermen and other folks.

Pohaku was undisturbed and appears to be doing fine.

At 9:45 am they found Ka'ale RH32 on the west side alone on the rocks basking in the warm sun.  He is looking healthy and fat. No new hooks or new injuries seen.
Team Billand spotted this dolphin off shore, poor thing has some scars on the side of its body.

Team Billand found two critters on their next stop. At 10:30 they spotted a critter on lower rocks snoozing when they noticed a big cue ball natural bleach on right side. Then Team Billand see the tag W22 ! It's Kolohe! Who usually spends his time on the east side on Rabbit Island, Lanai Lookout and Hanauma Bay. He is looking very handsome in his new coat.
Nice of him to visit Team Billand on the west side, wonder if he's planning a trip to Kauai.

The second critter was RIP RR70 who spent the entire time in Benny's playboy pond.  ( for those of you who follow the blog you know what that reference is all about). 

Team Billand checked out several other spots but these were the only critters they found for the day.

Buster V08

 

Rocky RH58

 that's a lot of people 

Pohaku RO28

Ka'ale RH32

Kolohe RW22

 RIP @ Benny's playboy pond :-)