Hawaiian monk seal pup checks in at Ke Kai Ola for emergency care on Big Island

A new patient recently checked in at The Marine Mammal Center’s Hawaiian monk seal hospital Ke Kai Ola in Kona on the Big Island.

Yearling RS52, a juvenile male born on Lānaʻi, was rescued Oct. 17 from Maui as part of a special intervention mission and brought in for emergency care after being identified in late September as losing significant weight and becoming progressively less energetic and continuing to thin throughout the next few weeks.

“Rescuing a seal can be challenging and involves a high degree of planning and coordination. It can be difficult to predict when or where a seal will be spotted,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. “Sometimes they haul out at spots that aren’t easily accessible. They might also leave before responders arrive.”

So when volunteers with The Marine Mammal Center located RS52 hauled out on a West Maui beach, experts quickly put their rescue plan in motion.

They successfully collected him with the help of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources and Marine Mammal Center.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point then transported the Hawaiian monk seal pup from Maui to Ke Kai Ola, The Marine Mammal Center’s Hawaiian monk seal hospital and conservation program on Hawaiʻi Island.

RS52 is now undergoing testing to determine the best possible care for his recovery. In the meantime, he is under the watchful eye of the center’s team, who is providing him with food and monitoring his health.

The community’s timely reports and vigilant monitoring were critical to RS52’s rescue.

You can help care for endangered Hawaiian monk seals by reporting all monk seal sightings to the statewide National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Wildlife Hotline at 888-256-9840.