A young female Hawaiian monk seal was found dead at a beach in Anahola on Kauai after being bludgeoned on the side of the head, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
DLNR and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are seeking information from the public on the death of the monk seal identified as RF58. A $5,000 reward is being offered.
"There really is no excuse for bludgeoning a baby monk seal," DLNR Director William Aila said at news conference Tuesday at the Kalanimoku Building.
Rachel Sprague, NOAA’s Hawaiian monk seal recovery coordinator, said the seal was found Sunday afternoon, after the agency received two calls from the public.
The pup was flown to Oahu for a necropsy, which determined that she died from blunt force trama.
"The seal likely did not die immediately, but from complications associated with massive trauma and internal bleeding," a news release said, citing a preliminary postmortem report from the Marine Mammal Center and NOAA.
RF58 was born June 28 near Larsen’s Beach on Kauai, and Sprague said she was healthy and seen near her birthplace the day before her death. "She was in really great condition," Sprague said at the news conference.
The pup was born to a well-known seal named Rocky, or RH58, who spends most of her time on Oahu. The mother and pup were attacked by a dog on Kauai’s North Shore in July. Another pup, identified as PK5, was killed in that incident, while RF58 recovered from bites to her head and back.
The monk seal is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. There are about 1,100 to 1,200 monk seals. It is a Class C felony to kill a monk seal. Violators can face a fine of up to $50,000 and five years in prison.
Aila said the death of the young female monk seal is disturbing and that female seals are vital to sustaining the critically endangered population.
Four monk seals have died under suspicious circumstances — two on Kauai and two on Molokai — from November 2011 to April 2012. Rewards for information leading to the conviction of the people responsible for those seal deaths are also being offered.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NOAA hotline at 800-853-1964 or the state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement at 855-DLNR-TIP or 643-DLNR.
