Posted on: Friday, August 6, 2004

Two seals born on Kaua'i shores

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Two monk seals have given birth on south Kaua'i beaches this week, both in locations where other pups have been born and raised.

One newborn is at Po'ipu Beach and one at Maha'ulepu. Both pups appear healthy, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The agency has hired a coordinator to work with volunteers to provide day-and-night monitoring of the seals and to help educate people who come to the beaches. A primary goal will be to see that domestic animals, particularly dogs, are kept away from the seals.

"This is a critical time for the pups' survival. The mother and pup need to rest and begin to bond so that the pup will learn to nurse," said Tamra Faris, NOAA Fisheries assistant regional administrator for protected resources.

Crews have roped off parts of the beaches to prevent disturbances that could drive the mothers to abandon their pups. The pups will probably be weaned when they are about 6 weeks old.

Several seals each year have pupped on Kaua'i beaches. In the main Hawaiian Islands, only the remote island of Ni'ihau has a higher number of seals. But of the world's monk seals — roughly 1,300 in all — most live in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the 1,200-mile string of small islands, sandbars and reefs to the northwest of Kaua'i.

The seals are listed as endangered and their numbers have been slipping despite extensive efforts by federal agencies to reverse the decline. That is one reason for the attention to the well-being of individual pups on Kaua'i beaches.

Seal births in past years on Po'ipu Beach, one of the island's most popular strands for both tourists and residents, have raised concerns among visitor industry authorities and local government officials. The presence of the seals has resulted in the closing of as much as half the beach — and at times more.

Often, it's not just pups. One day in March 2003, five adult seals virtually evicted humans on the small crescent of beach at Po'ipu.

In a news release yesterday, the National Marine Fisheries Service thanked industry and local government officials for their help.

"We want this to be a community effort," Faris said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.