Rising Tide Images
Weaner
After a morning swimming and foraging lesson, this Hawaiian monk seal pup appears to be enjoying one of the last meals provided by its mother. The male pup was born 14 April 2022 on Oahu’s north shore; the fifth pup born this season on Oahu (PO5). He appears healthy with an obvious weight and size gain from my previous observations. The mother loses weight as she doesn’t feed much during this period of nurture and lactation. Monk seal pups usually wean at age 5 to 7 weeks and this one weaned a few days after this photo on 25 May 2022 and was tagged Q24/Q25. His experienced mother is known as RN58 “Luana”, born 2013, also on Oahu’s north shore where she has returned to birth several pups. A recently updated survey estimate by NOAA indicates a small, but encouraging, population increase to 1,570 individuals throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. However, Hawaiian monk seals remain endangered and among the rarest of marine mammals.
Weaner
After a morning swimming and foraging lesson, this Hawaiian monk seal pup appears to be enjoying one of the last meals provided by its mother. The male pup was born 14 April 2022 on Oahu’s north shore; the fifth pup born this season on Oahu (PO5). He appears healthy with an obvious weight and size gain from my previous observations. The mother loses weight as she doesn’t feed much during this period of nurture and lactation. Monk seal pups usually wean at age 5 to 7 weeks and this one weaned a few days after this photo on 25 May 2022 and was tagged Q24/Q25. His experienced mother is known as RN58 “Luana”, born 2013, also on Oahu’s north shore where she has returned to birth several pups. A recently updated survey estimate by NOAA indicates a small, but encouraging, population increase to 1,570 individuals throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. However, Hawaiian monk seals remain endangered and among the rarest of marine mammals.