NOAA investigating alleged punching of monk seal on Kauai beach
COURTESY NOAA / PERMIT #932-1905
The Hawaiian monk seal, identified as RK30, rested comfortably on the west end of Salt Pond Beach with no apparent injuries, according to Jamie Thomton, Kauai marine mammal response program coordinator of NOAA Fisheries.
COURTESY NOAA / PERMIT #932-1905
The Hawaiian monk seal, identified as RK30, rested comfortably on the west end of Salt Pond Beach with no apparent injuries, according to Jamie Thomton, Kauai marine mammal response program coordinator of NOAA Fisheries.
A video posted on social media that shows a man punching a pregnant Hawaiian monk seal at a Kauai beach has touched off an investigation conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The alleged attack occurred at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Kauai police and NOAA responded to the scene.
“Biologists saw her resting comfortably on the west end of Salt Pond Beach with no apparent injuries,” said Jamie Thomton, Kauai marine mammal response program coordinator of NOAA Fisheries. Even so, he said, “We are very concerned about the incident depicted on the video.”
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division Conservation and Resources Enforcement is assisting NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement in the investigating the incident.
Scientists revisited the site this morning and observed marks on the sand indicating that the seal, identified as RK30, had left the beach overnight.
Thomton said the seal is about 17 years old and beloved by the community as she has been seen on every beach on the Garden Isle. She was first seen on the Na Pali Coast in 2004. She gave birth to her first pup in 2006 at Milolii Beach on the Na Pali Coast and has given birth to five more pups since then. Thomton said she is pregnant with her seventh pup.
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Hawaiian monk seals are an endangered population with approximately 1,200 monk seals, a majority of which are at the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and approximately 200 in the main Hawaiian islands.
Anyone with information on the monk seal attack is urged to call NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement hotline at 1-800-853-1964 or the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement at 587-0077.
To report a monk seal incident, call NOAA’s 24-hour hotline at 1-888-256-9840.
23 responses to “NOAA investigating alleged punching of monk seal on Kauai beach”
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karma is coming cor this guy. a curse on him and his family for his actions.
coward and loser.
I hope they catch and prosecute this idiot
Knucklehead, needs to be put away for a while to think about the idiocy of his action.
Hope they catch him. Violence against animals means he will not hesitate to hurt people.
I hope they catch that guy and execute him.
We just need to know his name.
Never have a scene as despicable as this “tough” guy beating up a defensible and endangered animal been seen on our TV screen! No sane or healthy minded person would do this! Charitable thoughts and feelings should prevail here but golly it’s difficult. We are tempted to lower our moral standard and love for mankind by giving this character a dose of his own actions!!
What kind of people do we have living in this State? One of the problems is they are too easy on the punishment. Shame on that bully.
The SA needs to get this video and put a picture of this despicable person who would assault a pregnant monk seal. Shame him forever in Hawaii and make others understand that such behavior is not allowed. Oh, and let NOAA prosecute him – of course with Hawaii’s stu*pid judges, nothing may come of that.
Like I said above, Hawaii judges are idi*ots – read this “In April of 2009, 78-year-old Charles Vidinha fatally shot a pregnant monk seal at Pilaa Beach, on Kauai’s North Shore. He pleaded guilty in September of that year and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $25 fine.”
Anyone, except a Hawaii judge, will see 90 days in jail and a $25 fine a ridiculous punishment. Anybody wonder why people harm the endangered monk seals?
I think that the new environmental court that we now have will help to standardize penalties and the fines will be much higher than in the past.
For reasons unknown a number of attacks upon seals appear to occur on Kauai. Is it the water or what??
Transplants.
Like heck. It’s always the locals hurting the seals, and for no other reason than that’s what they were taught.
We shall find out if he is caught.
kiragirl, I’ll give good odds it was a transplant…regardless find the culprit and let the Community address. Kauai has got it’s issues (i.e. South Park episode on “natives” vs. “locals”)
I am a proud Hawaiian and if this guy is Hawaiian, shame on our culture.
..”shame”, just shame? How about THE LANCE OF LONO?(!)
I hope they catc h this guy. He deserves the maximum fine and years imprisonment.
I hope they catch this guy. He deserves the maximum fine and years imprisonment.
Bachi on the guy that did this!
What’s wrong with this guy?! Hope he gets caught