Seal swims back to Big Island bay

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The frisky monk seal of Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island was back at his old stomping grounds this weekend after he swam back from the waters off the southern tip of the island last week.

The 2 1/2-year-old Hawaiian monk seal called RM34 was sent to his birthplace off South Point after his antics — which included nipping and groping — became a danger to himself and swimmers.

But he traveled about 50 miles back to Kealakekua Bay, where he was spotted late Saturday, said Margaret Akamine, a wildlife manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who overseas monk seals.

Conservation officials are asking Big Island residents and visitors to stay clear of the 300-pound, exuberant and endangered animal until they can find a new home for him.

"This is a very endangered animal," Akamine said. "Interacting with him is bad for people and bad for the animal."

Bad for the animal, she said, because if RM34 is to survive in the wild, he needs to learn that he is a seal in search of other seals, not humans. Bad for people, she said, because RM34's seal games, which witnesses characterized as "nipping and groping," can be extremely dangerous when played with much smaller animals like people.

RM34, Akamine said, will grow to weigh more than 600 pounds. His groping behavior, she said, "is just what it sounds like."

"He's a young boy," she said. "He's just playing out normal field behavior. Unfortunately, he should be playing it out with other seals."

If RM34 does not learn to play with other seals and avoid humans, he may end up living out his life in captivity — a sad fate for a seal whose birth, the first recorded on the Big Island, was a watermark for the resurgence of his species. If RM34 grows to a full-sized adult and never loses his taste for close encounters with humans, he may become extremely dangerous, and his fate could be even worse.

Only about 1,400 of the endangered Hawaiian monk seals exist in the world, most of them on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

People who spot monk seals should report them to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at (888) 256-9840, Akamine said. To report a behavior that is a violation of endangered species act and marine mammal protection act, call (800) 853-1964.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.