When a pup of Hawaiian Monk Seal was born, it is jet black in color and weighs about 35 pounds and a length of about 3 feet. The first few weeks of its life are napping, nursing, and swimming in the shallows close to shore with its mother. The pup swimming starts on the birth date. Normally the nursing period is five to six weeks, but of course, the length of days are all different, some mother takes less than 40 days and others take near 60 days. It depends on the mother’s body condition.
The mother seal stays by her pup’s side constantly and does not go off to catch food for herself. She is nursing her pup without eating whole the nursing period.
Honey Girl, R5AY and her 11th pup, Keolakai, RK80 (a few days old) on April 15, 2018
First Week: The pup’s coat still solid black but start loose and has many folds in it. Its head and limbs appear disproportionately large.
Second Week: As the pup’s appetite increses, so does its size, and the folds in its coat begin to disappear.
Honey Girl, R5AY and her 12th pup, Makoa, RL36 (about three weeks old)
Third Week: Mother seal begins to show weight loss as her pup grows rapidly. Patches of light gray fur may begin to appear on the pup’s belly.
Fourth Week: Gary fur continues to replace the pup’s black birth coat. Both mother and pup spend more time in the water.
Fifth Week: Weeks of fasting have depleted the once obese mother to the point that the contours of her ribs are plainly visible through her skin. The pup, on the other hand, is now a roly-poly butterball with a tightly fitting gray coat.
Having cared for her pup for nearly forty days or more longer, the exhausted mother is ready to wean her pup. She has lost about half of her pre-birth weight, and if she does not eat soon she will die.
Honey Girl, R5AY and her 12th pup, Makoa, RL36 (41 days old) Photo by Kimo Smith
Her job complete, she quietly slips away, heading for open water to tend to her own nutritional needs. After the mother weaned her pup, it must now learn to forage for itself. The nutrition that the mother seal gives her pup is enough to survive for 2-3 months after she weaned her pup.
A weaned pup’s body size is weight around 200 pounds and its length about 4 feet.
Wawamalu, RK24 (Kaiwi, RK96’s 2nd pup) two weeks after weaned
What are the threats to Hawaiian Monk Seal recovery?
In the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the main threats include malnutrition, entanglement in marine debris, shark predation, and habitat loss due to climate change.
In the main Hawaiian Islands, the key threats include fishery interactions (fishing hook hooking and entanglements), human attacks and toxoplasmosis. Disease caused by morbillivirus is also an important threat however a vaccination program helps protect the species.
Hawaiian Monk Seal is solitary nature so that young pup’s survival is a very low percentage.
Reference: The Hawaiian Monk Seal by Patrick Ching
Let’s learn more about Hawaiian Monk Seal and become an ambassador of Hawaiian Monk Seal! How? Please come to join one of our Learn Hawaiian Monk Seal tours. I look forward to meeting you in person near future!!
