AUGUST 1, 2000

 

Most exciting news!  A monk seal pup was born on Po`ipu Beach July 6th, several days after our last newsletter was sent out. This is the first time a pup has been born at Po`ipu.  A birth on so public a beach is unprecedented, which makes  this a very great event.  It has been such a privilege to be with the mom and baby and witness this blessed cycle.  Everyone is receiving a wonderful education, making us more aware of our stewardship of these gentle creatures.

Welcome to all the new volunteers from around the world who came to be with us and offer their loving care, concern and services for the new mom and pup.  I wish I could thank each of you personally but please know I appreciate all that you offered while you were here.  This experience for me has been one of heartfelt connections and a sense of community that could never have been planned.  We have to thank this little pup for making this possible.
 
She,- yes,- it is definitely a female!, is doing well, gaining a lot of weight, and is very rambunctious. It is estimated that she now weighs about l50 lbs. She and mom are exploring further each day and we have had to move the barriers a number of times. It is a thrill to watch the pup rolling around, with little flippers flying in the air, both in the water and on land.  She is also not minding as well as she did the first week or ten days and now talks back to the mom.  The mom is not getting as much rest as she did, having to keep track of this nosy pup.  It does remind me of a human child very much.  I have a great picture on video of the mom pushing the fence up and both of them going through to sleep on the other side.  Everyone has been wonderful and understanding as one or the other of the beaches have to be closed every day.

Brad Ryon from National Marine Fisheries Service has been here full time since the pup was three days old.  And I mean full time.  He camped on the beach the first two weeks to check  on the mom and pup every hour around the clock.  Then the hotels and condos nearby were  kind enough to offer him a room when they had a vacancy and he could get a short rest in the afternoon. Without him and the volunteers, this  mom and pup would not have had the sacred space that they have had.
 
We have had lots of press.  A visitor told me that she read about it in the N. Y. Times. It has been a wonderful event and a great privilege to protect this new life that is still so endangered. The pup will be on its own in about 2 more weeks, when the mom leaves to replenish herself.  There are plans to relocate it to a more remote beach where it can learn to feed itself and try to remember that it is a seal and not a human.  It has gotten a lot of attention here from thousands of people who would like to take it home with them.
 
There was a planned surfing, swimming, and kayaking festival planned for July 30th on Po`ipu Beach with thousands of people attending, plus three rock bands. We were very concerned that the crowd would be too large and the noise level too high and the mom would be disturbed or threatened and possibly even leave the pup. After much negotiation, the festival was finally moved to another beach, greatly relieving the tense situation surrounding this potential conflict..
 
NEWS FLASH!!!!
 
I had most of this newsletter written, ready to send out on Aug lst. On July 3lst, another pup was born!  It was born on Maha`ulepu Beach which is on private property near the Hyatt Hotel, not too far from Po`ipu.  We are still in shock as it had been so long since any pups were born here on Kaua`i until last year (when one was born).  Now we have four born in the span of several months. Mahaulepu is not as gentle a beach as Po`ipu.  It is too funny to see this little pup get bounced and tumbled in the shore break  while the mom rests placidly nearby with one eye open.
 
I will try to put pictures of both pups in the upcoming newsletter.
 
 
Another big Mahalo to all of you for all the support from residents and visitors alike.  It has been a grand adventure.

Mahalo,
Barbara Frazier
Kaua`i Monk Seal Watch Program Volunteer Coordinator and Liaison

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