Off on another adventure

Ten endangered Hawaiian monk seals were transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas, in late April. As revealed in our last issue (The Old Woman Who Swallowed The Fly), eight of the ten seals had become an unwanted financial burden to the National Marine Fisheries Service after a translocation experiment ended up blinding the animals in the NMFS’ Kewalo Research Facility in Hawaii.

A SeaWorld press release dated 21 April ("Highly Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals Arrive At SeaWorld") declares that "The animals – all young adult females about 3 years old – were transferred to the world’s largest marine life adventure park with the approval of the National Marine Fisheries Service for long-term care and research."

Dudley Wigdahl, SeaWorld San Antonio’s general curator, was quoted as saying that "eight of the monk seals have varying degrees of blindness from an unknown cause, while two others are key to research, not having contracted the undiagnosed ailment which caused the blindness."

The press release goes on to state that: "Marine mammal veterinarians who have examined the Hawaiian monk seals say they don’t believe the eye condition, which caused the animals to go blind, is contagious. All 10 monk seals appear to be healthy with the exception of the vision problems."

The monk seals, apparently destined for new quarters in SeaWorld’s "Seal and Sea Lion Community, adjacent to the Sea Lion, Walrus and Otter Stadium", were put on show to the public soon after their arrival.

In hailing the arrival of the unfortunate animals, PR managers spared little effort in trumpeting the environmental credentials of the SeaWorld facility and those of its corporate overseers: "Their SeaWorld debut," declares the press release, "happens to coincide with the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks’ Endangered Species Celebration, part of the parks’ annual Green Week environmental awareness program for employees and guests as well as a collaborative effort with the National Wildlife Federation’s ‘Keep the Wild Alive’ campaign."

The SeaWorld press release is available at the facility’s online press room at: http://www.4adventure.com/press/swtxpressroom.html).

SeaWorld supports Mediterranean monk seals: Meanwhile, friends of the monk seal will no doubt be delighted that the corporate parent of Sea World Inc., Anheuser-Busch, is extending a helping hand to Monachus monachus as well. The company’s ever-optimistic web site (http://www.abenvironment.com/docs/mappage.shtml) declares that it is supporting "the Mediterranean monk seal recovery plan through the IUCN/Conservation Breeding Specialist Group". It is likely that Sea World PR functionaries are referring to the Captive Breeding Specialist Group, that once attempted, unsuccessfully, to confer a modicum of respectability upon the now infamous 1994 attempt by Antibes Marineland (a kindred marine circus in France) to capture monk seals on the Côte des Phoques.

Another Maui birth highlights Q39 controversy

A monk seal pup born on Maui around the 10 August (reports David Jordan), may increase pressure on State and Federal authorities to ensure effective protection of the species in the wake of the notorious Q39 harassment case (Monachus Guardians, passim). The pup (ID number D41), tagged on 27 September, was described as "a very large and healthy female." Based on photographic records and scar data, the mother is believed to have previously given birth in 1998 to a pup code-named Y32. The last reported sighting of Y32 was this spring, near the place of his birth.

Q39 is understood to be the 1997 pup of this same, untagged female, and was most recently sighted on 13 September. The fallout from her day in court has continued since the last issue of The Monachus Guardian (‘He didn’t eat the seal, did he?’). All four Congressional delegates from Hawaii responded to the information they received from David Jordan and his father (Dr. Robert Jordan of the Environmental Protection Agency), which included copies of the harassment video and pertinent letters and emails exchanged between David Jordan and the NMFS, NOAA, and other government agencies and officials.

Senator Daniel Inouye and Representative Patsy Mink both wrote strongly worded letters to NMFS officials asking for an explanation for the lack of Federal follow up to the outcome of the State harassment case.

Senator Daniel Akaka said he would consider the issues raised in this case during the forthcoming debate when the Marine Mammal Protection Act comes before the Senate for renewal and funding. Representative Neil Abercrombie said that he had pursued the matter with local NMFS and Fish & Wildlife Service officials, and there was nothing further that could be done.

Replying to David Jordan’s letter of complaint regarding Judge Shigezawa’s behaviour and ruling in the case, the State of Hawaii Supreme Court Commission on Judicial Conduct stated that "after careful consideration, the Commission members have determined that there was no judicial misconduct involved. The matter is now concluded and appropriate steps have been taken towards avoiding in the future the kind of conduct you allege to have occurred."

Predictably, several observers have noted the unintentional irony buried in this reply. If no judicial misconduct occurred, why take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again?

New birth recorded on Molokai

According to National Park Service (NPS) reports, a monk seal pup was born in the Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokai on 28 May. The island of Molokai lies northwest of Maui.

An NPS press release states:

"On the morning of May 28th, park staff noted a monk seal with a new-born pup on one of the park’s white sand beaches... The pup appears to be strong and healthy. This is the only recorded birth in the eight main islands this year and the third Hawaiian monk seal birth in Kalaupapa. Last year’s pup, also born in May, was successfully weaned and tagged and has been seen several times on the beaches around Kalaupapa. Members of the Kalaupapa community have taken great pride in this birth, as they did with the previous two monk seal births during the last two years, and are assisting park staff in protecting the seal and her pup" (http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/msg00282.html).

Maui Conference

The Society of Marine Mammalogy’s 13th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals will convene in Maui on 28 November. The preliminary programme lists various presentations of relevance to Mediterranean and Hawaiian monk seals, including:

Do Hawaiian monk seals benefit from El Niño?
J.J. Polovina, J.D. Baker, G.A. Antonelis.

Effects of the 1997 die-off on the reproductive parameters of the Mediterranean monk seal colony of Cabo Blanco
M. Gazo, J. Forcada, T. Pastor, G. Cantos, A. Aguilar.

Population dynamics and status of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, Monachus schauinslandi
G.A. Antonelis, J.D. Baker, T.C. Johanos.

Population impacts of absolute and functional sex ratio fluctuations on the endangered Hawaiian monk seal
T.C. Johanos, B.L. Becker, T.J. Ragen, J.D. Baker.

Foraging habitats and conservation of Hawaiian monk seals
B.S. Stewart, M.P. Craig, G.A. Antonelis.

Demographic trajectory and projections of the Mediterranean monk seal population in the Western Sahara
J. Forcada, R. Pradel, M. Gazo, A. Aguilar.

Aggressive male behavior and shark predation dramatically increase mortality of Hawaiian monk seal pups at French Frigate Shoals
M.P. Craig, M. Shaw, G. Mo, M. Rutishauser.

Managing human activity aids recovery of endangered Hawaiian monk seals at Midway Islands
W. Gilmartin, S. Canja, C. Vanderlip, J. Mangel.

Effects of research handling and instrumentation on Hawaiian monk seals, Monachus schauinslandi
J.D. Baker, T.C. Johanos.

Use of deepwater coral beds by monk seals at French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii.
F.A. Parrish, M.P. Craig, K. Abernathy, G.J. Marshall, B.M. Buhleier.

The full preliminary programme can be found on the Society of Marine Mammalogy’s web site as an Acrobat PDF download: http://webdata.soc.hawaii.edu/abstract/Maui.html.