A young monk seal that was found dead on a Kauai beach this week suffered injuries believed to be caused by a boat propeller.
The 1-year-old male identified as RF22 was spotted Monday morning at Anini Beach. Volunteers of the island’s marine mammal response team recovered the body, and it was flown to Oahu where a necropsy was conducted.
Preliminary results revealed evenly spaced slashes across the right side of the seal’s face, suggesting impact by a propeller, said David Schofield, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Mammal Health and Response coordinator. The necropsy also revealed the 150-pound animal suffered from head trauma.
"That’s the kind of things we see in a boat strike," Schofield said.
The incident marks the first time scientists have seen a monk seal killed by a boat propeller in Hawaii, Schofield said.
"It is perplexing that this animal died this way because they’re rather agile in the wild," he said.
In 20 years of tracking seal injuries and deaths, Schofield said researchers know of five other seals that had scars indicative of propeller wounds. All five survived.
Tissue samples from the seal will be sent to laboratories on the mainland to determine whether the monk seal had an underlying condition that could have made him susceptible to being struck by a boat.
The monk seal was born May 7, 2014, at Waipake Beach on Kauai. He had frequented the island’s north shore, hauling out at various spots between Princeville and Kee Beach.
Though the death is believed to have been accidental, officials remind the public not to feed or lure endangered monk seals near boats or people. Seals are to be viewed from a distance, not to be played with or fed, Schofield said.
Earlier this week the Department of Land and Natural Resources reminded the public that throwing fish scraps in state waters is illegal.
Violators could face a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail for each criminal act, as well as civil penalties.
The reminder came in response to reports of a monk seal swimming regularly in and around the boats at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor on Hawaii Island.
The animal has been feeding on fish scraps thrown overboard.
In a news release, Department of Land and Natural Resources Chairwoman Suzanne Case said seals should not become conditioned to interact with people.
"Seals that are fed, even unintentionally by discarded fish scraps, can quickly become ‘problem seals’ that associate people with food and seek out human interactions that are dangerous for seals and people," she said. "They are wild creatures and we want to keep them wild."
