Two Hawaiian monk seal pups recently born on Oahu’s North Shore have been named by local elementary school students.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Kahuku Elementary School students gave monk seal pup PO4 the name Laki, which means “lucky” in Hawaiian, and Waialua Elementary School students dubbed monk seal pup PO5 as Maka‘u‘ole, which means “fearless.”
According to Hawaii Marine Animal Response, a nonprofit that works with NOAA, students chose the name Laki because the female pup’s mother, monk seal RH92, was not expected to give birth to her on Oahu. That is because RH92 was born on Kauai, and seals often, though not always, return to their own birthplace to give birth.
Monk seal RH92 survived an off-leash dog attack as a pup herself and accidentally swallowed a fishing hook later in life. She recovered from both to give birth to her first pup, Laki, some time in mid-April.
Maka‘u‘ole was so named because his mother, Luana, or RN58, is fearless and has tackled many challenges in her lifetime. The students hope that by giving Maka‘u‘ole his name, he will be fearless in life, too.
Luana, a veteran monk seal mom, gave birth to Maka‘u‘ole on April 14.
NOAA scientists do not name seals, but assign them an alphanumeric — a combination of letters and numbers — that is placed on hind flipper tags to identify and track them.
On Kauai and Maui, seals are generally still referred to by their NOAA numbers, while on Oahu, community members have been nicknaming seals they have known and tracked for years.
HMAR set up a formal program on Oahu and Molokai where, with support from cultural practitioners, students in Hawaiian immersion classes and Hawaiian studies name seal pups after receiving information on their defining physical characteristics, genealogy and location of birth.
Kimeona Kane, a cultural practitioner from Oahu, said giving children the opportunity to name the seals “sets a tone which supports the aspect of kuleana, bestowing upon these keiki a responsibility to the animals, the environment, each other, the community and the world.”
On one hand, scientists refrain from naming seals to get the message across to the public that the endangered monk seals are wild animals without attributing human characteristics to them or viewing them as domesticated animals.
They should not be disturbed, touched or fed while resting on Hawaii shorelines, and remain protected by state and federal laws.
On the other hand, NOAA said, naming the seals can cultivate connection and empathy in communities that share shorelines with Hawaiian monk seals.
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Seal sightings
During peak pupping season, NOAA reminds the public to:
>> Give mom-pup pairs at least 150 feet of distance.
>> Not disturb them while they are resting or nursing.
>> Sightings can be reported to NOAA’s marine wildlife hotline at 888-256-9840.
