A male Hawaiian monk seal who had been photographed getting friendly with folks at Nawiliwili Harbor has been found dead near Kapa’a. The body of the federally protected Hawaiian monk seal was found off the Kapa’a coastline by Otsuka’s Furniture
A male Hawaiian monk seal who had been photographed getting friendly with folks at Nawiliwili Harbor has been found dead near Kapa’a.
The body of the federally protected Hawaiian monk seal was found off the Kapa’a coastline by Otsuka’s Furniture & Appliances store last week, said a spokesperson for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Results of tests done by the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine cause of death are pending, said Delores Clark, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Honolulu office.
The male weighed 425 pounds, and was known as “K07” to federal officials, had in the past two months been observed taking food from people and otherwise interacting with humans at Nawiliwili Harbor and in the Kapa’a area, Clark said.
“There were no external signs of injury, no cuts, no lacerations, no bruises, no contusions, no marine debris entanglement,” said Don Heacock, an aquatic biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Aquatic Resources Division office on Kaua’i.
Heacock was involved in recovery of the remains.
A necropsy was conducted last week at the DLNR Aquatic Resources Division baseyard on Pua Loke Street in Lihu’e, and tissue samples were taken from the body, Heacock said.
Tests also are to be done to try to determine whether the seal succumbed to any diseases, Heacock said.
The necropsy and the tests were done by Brad Ryon, a NOAA Fisheries marine mammal biologist, and Dr. Bob Bruan, a veterinarian and a pathologist with marine mammal expertise.
Also assisting was another biologist and Sean Farry, a newly hired DLNR protective services coordinator.
The body of the dead seal was found in Kapa’a last Thursday evening by a resident who called authorities, Clark said.
Heacock, federal Fish and Wildlife Service personnel, two monk seal volunteers, Farry and a state law enforcement officer all helped remove the body.
The body of the seal was put in the back of Heacock’s state truck, and was transported to the DLNR Aquatic Resources Division baseyard in Lihu’e.
“We iced the animal down with 150 pounds of ice, and wrapped it up to keep it as fresh as possible, to slow down the decay (before the necropsy was done),” Heacock said.
The study of the remains could help improve the understanding of the species, he said.
Personnel with the Kaua’i County Department of Public Works Department disposed of the remains later.
Clark cautioned that interacting with endangered monk seals is against federal and state laws, and can lead to harm or injury to seals and humans.
She said that one of the best ways to protect the health and welfare of the species is to observe them from 150 feet away.
To report marine-mammal emergencies, please call the NOAA Fisheries’ toll-free, 24-hour Marine Mammal Emergency Hotline at 1-888-256-9840.
Heacock said people also can call the Kaua’i Police Department dispatcher at 241-1711.
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net.
