Jean Souza was excited when she discovered that GirlScouts would be volunteering at the seal watch program going on at Po‘ipu Beach Park. On Sunday, Jasmine Ikeda and Nicole Ogawa showed up early with their leader Janice Ikeda to help
Jean Souza was excited when she discovered that GirlScouts would be volunteering at the seal watch program going on at Po‘ipu Beach Park.
On Sunday, Jasmine Ikeda and Nicole Ogawa showed up early with their leader Janice Ikeda to help monitor the baby Hawaiian monk seal that was born on Aug. 3.
Because of a six-week period where the seal and its mom would remain on the beach, there is a need for constant monitoring to keep people from straying within the “safe” boundaries as well as disseminate information about the Hawaiian monk seal.
While “on duty,” the Girl Scouts from Troop 150 followed site leader Souza around before heading off to the leeward side of the beach when the mother and pup decided they would vacate their “island,” and swam the channel to take up a spot right below the special tent set up for seal watch volunteers.
That move meant the tent was off-limits as the new boundary took shape, the tent falling well inside the new “safe” perimeter, and necessitating a split in the volunteers.
Ikeda is no stranger to volunteering at the seal watch program.
“We’ve done this a couple of times before,” she said while keeping an eye on the gathering of visitors wanting to catch a glimpse of the young pup and mom.
“We tell people to lower their voices,” she said. “But, mostly, we need to tell them they need to stay away (keep a safe distance) from the seals.” Additionally, the girls were kept busy monitoring the binoculars and specially-set up telescope that visitors were using to get a closer view of the endangered species animals.
When a third Hawaiian monk seal made an appearance at the beach Sunday morning, activity within the volunteer corps heightened as they kept a close eye on the visiting seal that was quickly dispatched into an area outside the boundary, swimmers in the area freezing as the seal approached them.
The pair of Girl Scouts was joined by a third member, Leina Rose Fune and her mom Adela who joined the group just as the crowd numbers began to swell in the midmorning.
Volunteers will be needed until about Sept. 17 when the weaning period is scheduled to end.
