HONOLULU (AP) — Two malnourished monk seal pups have been rescued as part of a mission to help preserve the endangered species. ADVERTISING HONOLULU (AP) — Two malnourished monk seal pups have been rescued as part of a mission to
HONOLULU (AP) — Two malnourished monk seal pups have been rescued as part of a mission to help preserve the endangered species.
The 14-member crew working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dropped off the two Hawaiian monk seal pups at Marine Mammal Center’s Ke Kai Ola hospital in Kona.
The research crew docked in Pearl Harbor on Monday after a 21-day voyage. The researchers have been deployed on five remote islands and will remain there for the next four months.
Stacie Robinson, a NOAA official with the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, said the researchers will be doing population counts, disentangling monk seals from marine debris and moving the young seals away from sharks.
Hawaiian monk seals, or Monachus schauinslandi, are one of the rarest marine animals in the world. Their population has declined by about 500 within the last decade.
The two rescued monk seal pups, a male and a female, had been prematurely weaned and were found on Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Scientists said they would have died without being aided to recovery. The young seals are expected to be nursed back to health.
Federal officials also worked with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii on a project to pick up terrestrial marine debris and plastic from beaches at five islands and atolls. Crews dropped off 5,000 pounds of marine debris after their ship docked on Ford Island.
“This is the start of a research project that will identify types and sources of debris and estimate accumulation rates,” said NOAA spokeswoman Wende Goo.
