Federal officials have confirmed that two endangered Hawaiian monk seal deaths at undisclosed Kaua‘i locations Thursday and last month involved “foul play.” A necropsy completed Friday revealed that the most recently killed seal, known to NOAA officials as RK06, was
Federal officials have confirmed that two endangered Hawaiian monk seal deaths at undisclosed Kaua‘i locations Thursday and last month involved “foul play.”
A necropsy completed Friday revealed that the most recently killed seal, known to NOAA officials as RK06, was a pregnant female weighing more than 600 pounds and residing on the North Shore.
“This monk seal was an important part of the breeding colony,” Wende Goo, spokesperson for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said. “It had given birth to four pups in the past so her death has a big impact.”
Some community members have alleged that the two seals died from gunshot wounds, but NOAA officials declined to confirm the specific cause of death due to the pending federal and state investigations into both seal deaths.
Two Kaua‘i residents found RK06 Thursday afternoon at a remote North Shore beach, Goo said.
The location of the beach and the identity of the couple who discovered the wounded seal are being withheld because the couple fears retaliation.
Goo asked the newspaper not to reveal the exact beach in order to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigations.
Federal investigators met with the couple Friday at the same North Shore beach.
The couple was walking down a path to the secluded beach, heard popping sounds which could have been gunfire, then saw a monk seal scamper into the ocean, according to another family member, whose name is also being withheld for fear of retribution.
They saw a man with a truck near the water who told him he was the caretaker of the property near the beach, but did not see any weapon. They later tried to pull the monk seal from the water, but the animal was too heavy, the family member said.
They observed blood coming from the mouth of the seal and alerted authorities, the father of the man said Thursday night.
“They’re so tired of all of this,” the man’s father said. “We really want this story out.”
The man provided photographs to federal investigators, but declined to provide them to The Garden Island. The photographs might offer insight into a suspect or suspects in the shooting.
Goo said officials are continuing to investigate the April 19 death of a 4-year-old male seal at another undisclosed Kaua‘i beach, which she confirmed Friday involves “foul play.”
Officials have not determined if the two deaths are linked, she added.
Hawaiian monk seals are the most endangered seal species in the United States, with fewer than 1,300 remaining. They are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and state wildlife laws.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement is conducting an investigation, as well as federal officials, said Goo.
“We recognize that monk seals are an important part of the Kaua‘i community,” Goo said.
Anyone with information on either death is asked to call the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement hotline toll free at 1-800-853-1964. The hotline and NOAA law enforcement officials are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Monk seals have a lifespan of up to 30 years, although they generally live to between 20 and 25 years, according to the Defenders of Wildlife Web site.
Hawaiian monk seals are known as the most primitive of living seals. They have streamlined bodies which make them good swimmers, and have flipper-like front and back limbs. They can grow to up to seven or eight feet long, and can weigh up to 600 pounds.
Hawaiian monk seals are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act that requires the U.S. federal government to identify species threatened with extinction, identify habitat they need to survive, and protect both.
There are believed to be between 1,300 and 1,400 seals in the Central Pacific, with most in the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and a small breeding population in the Main Hawaiian Islands.
Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
