Honey Girl is a mom again, and volunteers are being extra vigilant this weekend as they watch over the Hawaiian monk seal and her adorable newborn, the first pup born in the main Hawaiian Islands this year.
The reason: Nearby Turtle Bay Resort is overrun with crowds attending Wanderlust Oahu, the yoga and music festival being held at the hotel for the third straight year.
"It’s gonna be crowded," said Dana Jones, of the Monk Seal Foundation, which oversees the legion of volunteers. "It’s going to be packed and crowded this weekend, so we’re going to have some very seasoned volunteers signed up for the entire weekend."
With the beach fenced off and at least three volunteers keeping guard, mother and pup appeared to be doing fine Friday, frolicking in the surf and resting on a beach near Kahuku Point.
The birth occurred on the beach there Wednesday afternoon. So far the sex of the pup is unknown.
Volunteers are settling in for a lengthy vigil. It takes five to seven weeks for the mom to nurse and bond with the pup, then another "several weeks to a month or two" for the pup to gather up enough strength to strike out on its own, said David Schofield, marine mammal health program coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This is the first birth during a pupping season that lasts generally from February to July. During that time the main islands can expect to see between 10 and 20 baby monk seals, Schofield said.
This is the ninth pup for Honey Girl, also known by scientists as R5AY. She was tagged in 2002 on Kauai, and experts estimate her age at 17 years.
Honey Girl nearly died 21⁄2 years ago after a fishing hook lodged in her mouth. She was taken to Honolulu Zoo for emergency surgery and eventually released back into the wild, Schofield said.
Jones, who is the Oahu response coordinator for the Monk Seal Foundation, said the volunteers take their job seriously. The Hawaiian monk seal is critically endangered, numbering less than 1,100 and declining in population size 3 percent per year.
Only 1 in 5 seals born in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — where about 85 percent of the animals live — survive until its first birthday. By contrast, the population of seals born in the main Hawaiian Islands has been growing about 5 percent annually. Schofield said that with fewer seals here, there is less competition for food.
Nevertheless, there are other dangers. Several seals have been deliberately killed on Kauai and Molokai in recent years.
Jones said the volunteers not only protect the seals, but try to educate the public and keep people safe, too. If you get too close, you could get bitten or attacked.
"You wouldn’t approach a lion with a cub or a grizzly bear with a cub," she said. "It’s the same thing. Any mother would defend her child."
Skip Taylor, a manager with the Turtle Bay Resort, acknowledged that the hotel is at 100 percent occupancy this weekend, and many guests are curious about the seals. But, he said, the resort is working with NOAA to communicate "the proper protocols" for encountering the animals.
"Ninety-nine percent of the people — especially those here for Wanderlust — are deeply respectful of nature," he said.
Jones agreed, saying she didn’t really expect trouble from the "yoga and meditation group."
