The Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Project
Learn how you can get involved
Click here or the photo above to help save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction. Make sure to check the Hawaiian Monk Seals Project ‘restrict my gift’ button on your donation form.
Click here for photos.
On the Brink of Extinction:
The Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Project
Monk seals – and the struggle to save them – have great significance on regional, national, and even global scales. The genus Monachus (comprised of the Hawaiian, Caribbean, and Mediterranean monk seals), are thought to be among the oldest existing seals on an evolutionary time scale. The Caribbean species was hunted to extinction for meat, skins, blubber and museum and zoo specimens. The last wild monk seal in the Caribbean was seen in 1952.
The Hawaiian monk seal is the most endangered pinniped in the U.S., with numbers estimated at around 1100 and decreasing at 4% per year. The total number of Hawaiian monk seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), has declined by 70 % since the late 1950s. As part of a joint conservation effort, The Marine Mammal Center embarked on a captive care project at Midway Atoll to provide nutritional supplementation to female juvenile monk seals in hopes of improving their chances of surviving in the wild to reproduce. This project was started in May 2006 by the birth of twin female pups. Because these were rare undersized female twins, and given the history of poor juvenile survival, it was imperative to include the twins in the project. Five other female juveniles were included, and together with the twins, were held in beach pens and fed a high-fat diet to help them gain as much weight as possible prior to release. More advanced medical care was provided when the seals exhibited signs of ill health. The twins, as well as four of the females, were re-released at Midway Atoll at the end of March 2007.
This pilot program has offered renewed hope for the preservation of this species, but much more work needs to be done. The Hawaiian monk seal needs assistance now to prevent extinction.
The new Recovery Plan for the Hawaiian monk seal, published by NOAA in the summer of 2007 includes:
- Improving juvenile survival through direct intervention such as providing captive care and feeding;
- Mitigating mortality due to entanglement in marine debris;
- Reducing shark predation on seal pups; and
- Ensuring growth of the small Main Hawaiian Islands seal population.
Proposed Actions:
A range of prospective approaches for increasing juvenile survival have been identified, including:
- Bringing young animals into captivity for feeding and veterinary care, followed by release back into the wild
- Translocation of weaned pups from areas of lower to higher expected survival
- Treatment of free-ranging young animals to reduce parasite loads
Investing in the immediate development of recovery strategies to preserve the Hawaiian monk seal is critical. Delay, procrastination, or simple failure to rise to the challenge will only heighten the risk of extinction for this remarkable species, and possibly its entire genus. We have the opportunity to shape and influence the Hawaiian monk seal’s future. Despite its low and declining numbers, current circumstances in Hawaii are conducive to recovery. Its core habitat in the NWHI is highly protected. Importantly, the Hawaiian monk seal’s habitat occurs entirely within the United States, removing international interference. Prompt action to take advantage of this opportunity may be the only chance to save this species from extinction.
You can help to save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction. Donate
to The Marine Mammal Center’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Project. Make sure to check the Hawaiian Monk Seals Project ‘restrict my gift’ button on your donation form.Your donation will be earmarked to fund this important effort.
|
