Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 9, 1 September 1988 — Naturally Hawaiian [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Naturally Hawaiian

By Patrick Ching Artist/ Environmentalist

Hawaiian Seals

'Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, literally "the dog that goes in the rough (seas)," is the name that was given to the Hawaiian monk seal. lts eommon name "monk seal" may have been given because of its solitary habits, bald appearance, and a fold of skin behipd the neek that resembles a monk's hood. The range of the Hawaiian monk seal is for the most part restricted to the tiny islets and atolls of the northwest Hawaiian islands. Occasionally individual seals have been sighted around the major islands. In recent years sightings from Kauai have become increasingly regular.

Most monk seals are born between the months of April through August. A pregnant monk seal will gorge herself with fish for weeks prior to pupping in order to produce milk for her offspring. When the time comes she will "haul up" onto the beach and give birth to a single, jet-black pup. During the first few weeks of life the pup will live off of its mother's milk and stay close to her side. After five to six weeks of nursing, the mother seal, by this time very thin, will leave her pup and begin catching food for herself again. The newly weaned pup, called a "weaner" is fat with blubber until its surplus runs out and it has to leam to catch food for itself.

Onee the weaner has mastered the art of catching fish it still has other obstacles to overcome before reaching adulthood. Predation by sharks and injuries inflicted by other seals seem to be the leading causes of deaths among monk seals. The National Manne Fisheries Service is eonducting ongoing research on Hawaiian monk seals to determine ways to ensure their survival. One experiment that seems to be helping is a "head start" program on the remote northwestern atoll of Kure. There, newly weaned female pups are raised in an enclosed section of the reef where they spend their critical first summer protected from predators. The success of this program is very encouraging and in the sping of 1987 the first captive reared monk seal gave birth to a brand new pup.