It’s not official, but Kaimana, the Hawaiian monk seal pup born on Waikiki’s Kaimana Beach
43 days ago Friday, appears to be on her own after mom Rocky disappeared into the ocean Friday afternoon.
Following a midday nursing session, the seals went for a dip at about 1:14 p.m. along the Waikiki Natatorium pool before heading farther out to sea.
About 45 minutes later Kaimana returned to the shore alone, swimming in nearshore waters for more than an hour and a half before hauling onto the beach by herself before 3:30 p.m.
“This may indicate that Rocky has weaned her pup, but it’s too soon to know
for sure,” Dan Dennison, spokesman for the state
Department of Land and Natural Resources, said in
a news release.
Following an observation period, conservation officials will move the pup to a secluded Oahu beach, allowing the young seal to grow up wild and avoid imprinting and socializing with the humans who visit the busy beach in Waikiki.
It’s unclear exactly when officials will transport the animal, though it likely will happen in the next few days, Dennison said.
Kaimana will be the 10th pup weaned by Rocky and the only one not born on a remote beach on Kauai.
This time Rocky, born in 2000, chose one of Hawaii’s busiest beaches to give birth to her pup in late June. Since then the pair have been a popular tourist attraction and internet sensation.
Stacie Robinson, a research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, said officials plan to tag the young seal for identification, vaccinate her for morbillivirus and attempt to attach a satellite transmitter for tracking.
It’s unlikely any sedation will be needed for the operation.
“It’s been seldom necessary in the past,” remarked David Schofield, National Marine Fisheries Service regional marine mammal response coordinator. “Once in the cage, (seals) more often than not fall asleep. At first it’s like, ‘What’s going on here?’ and then they just crash out.”
Robinson said Hawaiian monk seal mothers have evolved to abruptly leave their pups once they have given all they can in mother’s milk and body fat. Rocky, who hasn’t eaten in nearly seven weeks, must now take care of herself by eating fish and regaining strength, she said.
Most mother seals take off and don’t return to check up on their offspring. Schofield said one report told of a mom that came back to rest on the same beach where her pup was.
“And it was like they didn’t know each other.” Schofield said. “That hard-wiring of being a mother — the switch had flipped off, and they went back to being two wild seals in the environment.”
On Friday, Kaimana spent her alone time swimming in the nearshore waters and alternatively basking across several areas of the beach.
At an estimated 180 to 200 pounds, the rotund pup is perhaps half the size of her mother, with body fat that bounces when she scoots across the sandy shoreline.
The pup gained all of her girth from Rocky’s milk — and maybe more than any of her mom’s previous nine pups. Officials said Rocky’s well-documented record of nursing periods averaged about 40 days and ranged from 39 to 42 days.
Robinson said the young seal will need all of the fat to get her through her first few weeks of exploring and learning how to fish in her new home.
