ilio holo i kauaua: dog that runs in the rough seas

Over the past few weeks we have been really really lucky to observe the first few weeks in the life of a new baby Hawaiian Monk Seal. We've been visiting her at Mahaulepu Beach (one of my favorite places on this planet, about a mile from our house) where volunteers are posted dawn to dusk to protect the mamma and her baby. (Pictured here is baby at 2 days old. Note how large momma is and the furry black folds of skin on baby. The extra skin will give baby room to grow over the next few weeks.)

Dr. Mimi Olry, Marine Mammal Coordinator for the Island of Kauai says, "the importance of this birth to the monk seal population can hardly be overstated. It is the most endangered marine mammal in the United States". Hawaiian monk seals are the oldest living mammals on the planet. They stopped evolving some time around 14 million years ago and are essentially a living fossil. There are 3 known populations of monk seal: the Caribbean (now extinct) the Mediterranean (numbers down to less than 30), and the Hawaiian (numbers thought to be around 1200 remaining). This year on Kauai if the pupping goes well, there will be 5 monk seal births and 5 recorded monk seal deaths (not exactly a recipe for survival of a species). Sadly, reproduction and survival of pups overall is not keeping up with mortality.


Baby monk seals are born with jet black hair which will fall out over the nursing period as adult greyish brown hair grows in. Mommas "bulk up" before giving birth because they will not eat during the entire 5 - 7 week nursing period. Unlike the large colonies of sea lions we're used to seeing along the west coast, monk seals never evolved into social critters. Generally, they live a solitary life (perhaps the origin of their name "monk seals"). When the momma runs out of milk, she will wean and leave her pup permanently and it will have to find it's own way. (Can you imagine saying goodbye to your baby forever at 6 weeks old? To my knowledge, there is no other mammal on the planet that leaves it's baby this young.) At that point, the pup will have to live off the fat it's stored up until it can learn to catch food for itself.

Below is a photo of an adolescent male who "hauled out" a few hundred yards down the beach from momma and baby to rest and digest a night's worth of foraged food. Notice the green coloration... This is algae and will fall away as the seal begins it's annual molt.

Below are photos taken last weekend of the momma and her pup (4 1/2 weeks old). We now know the new pup is a girl... good news for the monk seal population! Look how thin momma has gotten! Momma has dropped at least 100 pounds and baby has probably gained close to that. When the baby was born she had furry folds of extra skin. Now she has become a round butterball on momma's milk (which is up to 50% fat!). While we were at Mahaulepu this past weekend momma took baby for a shallow swim around the beach. Even that short swim made baby hungry and she wouldn't stop pestering momma for more milk!

Local marine biologists think momma will probably wean the baby this week and return to her own sea adventures.

Ho' opomaika'i!

Good luck little one!









Ilio holo kai: Hawaiian Monk seal.

Save our Shearwaters by Ellie Hancock

Hi. My name is Ellie and I want to tell you about Shearwaters because I don't want them to become extinct.

Here are some things to know about Shearwaters:

1. they build their nests in burrows and lay one egg.

2. they eat squid and tuna.

3. they sound like a crying baby.

4. they howl at the moon.

5. they fly at night and have to go 1000 miles to get their babys food.

6. they are getting extinct.

Here are some things that are not okay for shearwaters:

1. bright lights which can confuse the birds and make them run into something. (From mom: shearwaters use the moon to navigate at night. Bright lights cause them to become disoriented.)

2. no dogs or cats because they can eat shearwaters. (From mom: shearwaters nest on the ground which make them very vulnerable to non-native animals like cats and dogs.)

These are some things that can help shearwaters:

1. if you take a picture of a shearwater please take your flash off so the light won't bother the bird.

2. if you go near some shearwaters please put your dog or cat on a leash.

3. if you find a shearwater on the ground ask a grown up to help you. You can take it to an aid station or the fire station and they will put it in a safe place.

I want to help shearwaters so they won't be extinct.

Molokai - Day 6: Riding at the ranch

Talk about packing it in... Ellie and I squeezed a quick trail ride in at the ranch before catching our 2pm flight back to Kauai...


Ellie enjoyed her ride and I enjoyed getting the local word on island politics first hand.

Molokai - Day 5: Wild Turkeys, Sea Kayaking and the cliffs of Kalaupapa

We were joined by a flock of wild turkeys for breakfast... guess they were hoping we could spare a few extra corn flakes...

After breakfast, we took the girls sea kayaking... Ellie paddled almost the entire 2 miles! (All that swimming has made her arms and shoulders strong!) I was really impressed!

Down the coast we entered a mangrove "forest" and paddled up a narrow stream (sometimes only the width of the kayak). We negotiated through the tunnel of branches and roots which often hung just above our heads. A few times Ellie and I almost ran face first into large spider webs stradling the creek. I don't know who was more freaked out by that... me or the 2" spider staring us down! The stream dumped us into an old "menehune fish pond" believed to be built as early as 800AD.

After the mangrove paddle, we all went out onto the reef and did some snorkeling. It was pretty windy and rough. Kate drank mouthfuls of sea water, but was a trouper! I couldn't talk her into getting back into the boat until Ellie came back in as well...

After kayaking we needed to rehydrate with an island favorite... old fashioned SHAVE ICE! Yum! Then headed up to the lookout over Kalaupapa (the old Leper Colony). Once we arrived on island we found that you have to be 16 to enter the colony, so we weren't able to take the donkey trail down. (Note: the trail goes down the 4000 ft. cliff on the left! These are the highest sea cliffs in the world, which is what made Kalaupapa the perfect prison to contain the lepers. What a sad story of inhumanity and ignorance.)

Molokai - Day 4: Molokai Ranch, Maunaloa & the wharf

View from Hale O Lono Beach.











Boats are lined up in preparation for the annual Molokai Hoe Outrigger Canoe race to Oahu.










Old Maunaloa Town, Molokai Ranch.


















The post office (built in the early 1900s). Where the "old timers" gather to "talk story"...

Molokai - Day 3: Mo'omomi Beach to the Molokai Ranch wharf

2 girls ready for adventure, we set out for Mo'omomi Beach.
Much of this area is owned by native "homesteaders", and it borders several hundred acres managed by the Nature Conservancy. The waves were a bit rough for swimming, so we decided to hike for awhile and wait out the wind... We could see for miles and miles and in all that, we saw only 1 couple with their dog far off in the distance. I thought about what it would feel like to wash up on these shores and be the only ones here...
The wind was so strong and the surf so high, the girls gave up on swimming and decided to be "mermaids". We found some really cool shells from the local spiny lobster. They almost looked like blue porcelan pottery...

Molokai - Day 2: Halawa Bay to "Mile Marker 20"

There is one main road on Molokai running East/West about 30 miles. We stayed at the Western end of the island and in typical Hancock fashion began our adventures by hopping in the car and driving, destination unknown. We drove pretty much until we came to the end of the road and found ourselves at Halawa Bay. Much of the route was via a 1 lane road perched precariously along the cliff edge. Scary, but gorgeous!

Apparently most inhabitants left this area after a huge tsunami wiped away thier homes about 40 years ago. (That made me a little nervous...) A few folks still live in this valley, but overall, it's pretty quiet.

Later we worked our way back to "Mile Marker 20" where we found a great swimming beach.

Kate has gotten so good in the water, she's snorkeling with her sister!

So cool to see them exploring together!

We ended the day with a killer dinner at the Molokai Hotel...