Wildlife and enforcement officials have reported yet another monk seal death on Oʻahu. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement responded to a report of a young monk seal, identified as RS48, and also known as Hoʻomau Lehua. The seal was found dead on June 12, 2023, on the North Shore of Oʻahu. NOAA officials say the cause of the seal’s death is currently unknown.
A juvenile Hawaiian monk seal, identified as RQ76 (also known as Malama), was most likely intentionally killed a few months ago on Oʻahu, according to new information released today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA Fisheries has confirmed that Hawaiian monk seal L11 is confirmed to be the victim of an intentional killing by gunshot wound to the head. The young female seal was found dead on Molokaʻi on Sept. 19, 2021. This marks the third confirmed intentional killing of a monk seal on Molokaʻi in 2021 and the seventh on Molokaʻi in the past decade.