The following was written by Marilyn Dunlap and I thank her for graciously sharing this information with the blog. As you read you will see that this information is from years of observations and how important it is to continue these efforts, because we have so much to learn.
NOTE: Please be respectful and do not use out of context. If you would like to share do so by providing a link to the Marilyn's post.
A Third Generation of Hawaiian Monk Seals Born on Rabbit Island
With all of the disappointing news this year for Hawaiian
Monk Seals (HMS), from the deaths of young seals by drowning in nets, the
possible deliberate killing of a young seal, and the devastating effects of
toxoplasmosis on HMS, it has been easy to get discouraged about the fate of the
species. But the news this week of the identity of the unknown mother monk seal
who pupped on Rabbit Island sometime around February 21, 2020, has given me
great hope.
If you haven’t heard, when the NOAA team went to Rabbit
(Manana) Island on Thursday, March 5, they identified the mother seal as RF34
Pua who herself was born on Rabbit Island in April 2014. One intriguing aspect of this story is that
RF34 was last reported sighted on September 4, 2014 when she was 5 months old.
She had not been reported in the 5 years since. So where has she been all this
time? Only Pua knows.
But this made me ponder Pua’s lineage and that’s the story I
want to share here. This tale starts with a remarkable HMS, RS00 Ewa Girl. Ewa
Girl’s story is an amazing one. She was born on Midway Atoll in 1992 and on her
own made it down the Hawaiian Archipelago over the years. She was known to have
had nine pups in the Main Hawaiian Islands including one on Niihau, one on the
Big Island and the rest on Oahu. I refer you to the following link to learn
more about this unique seal.
On Oahu, Ewa Girl gave birth to five pups on Rabbit Island
and two pups near the Reef Runway. Ewa Girl gave birth to RB12 Sadie on Rabbit
Island on April 10, 2007. Sadie was also a seal who spent much of her
juvenile-to adult life not being reported. Then in 2013 she showed up pregnant
and had her first pup (that we know of), RN04 Kainoa (male), on Rabbit Island.
Kainoa is reported sporadically on Oahu. The following year on April 3, 2014,
Sadie gave birth to RF34 Pua (female). Subsequently Sadie gave birth to RG06
Cass (female) in 2015, (who died following surgery for an intestinal blockage),
RH76 Kala (female) in 2016, RJ06 Aka (male) in 2017, RK37 Huia (female) in
2018, and, RL47 Kamakana (male) in 2019. We believe Sadie is pregnant again this
year and we will be looking for her to pup on Rabbit Island sometime in late
May or early June.
So now, almost 6-year old RF34 Pua has given birth to her
first (that we know of) pup on Rabbit Island. This represents a third
generation born on Rabbit Island, and a fourth generation from the amazing Ewa
Girl. PO1 is a great grandchild of Ewa Girl.
When the NOAA team went to Rabbit Island on March 5, 2020,
they actually had two of Sadie’s three daughters on the island. Besides the new
Mom RF34 Pua (and her pup P01), RH76 Kala was there. The NOAA Team also found RK38
Hali’a/Lauloa (and successfully dehooked her) and RG32, a male born on Molokai
who spends much of his time on the island.
I need to acknowledge the contributions of my late husband,
DB Dunlap, who provided NOAA with almost daily sightings of the HMS on Rabbit
Island from 2003 until his death in 2017. We would not know nearly as much as
we do about the Rabbit Island seals without his efforts.
This story gives me hope for the Hawaiian Monk Seals in the
Main Hawaiian Islands in spite of the threats they face. It also emphasizes the
impact one female seal can make on the HMS population. We thank NOAA for their
interventions along the way (starting with twice having to remove hooks from
Ewal Girl) that have assisted in preserving this lineage. The wanderlust that
led Ewa Girl to travel from Midway to the Big Island of Hawaii has had a major
impact on the seal population in the Main Hawaiian Islands. May the females of
this line continue to go forth and prosper.
Great Grandma Ewa Girl
Grandma Sadie
Sadie with baby Pua RF34 from 2014
Mark giving Pua RF34 the shaka 2014
Momma Pua 2020 and PO1 four generations - three born on Rabbit Island
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