Hawaiian monk seal released back into the wild after receiving care in Kona

KAILUA-KONA — An endangered Hawaiian monk seal that underwent medical treatment in West Hawaii has been released back to her ocean home off Kauai.

The Marine Mammal Center, the world’s largest marine mammal hospital, on Tuesday announced the news of monk seal RH38’s successful release into the wild last week.

Since her rescue in June, the center had been treating the adult female seal for a series of ailments including kidney stones, suspected pneumonia and a fractured upper left canine tooth at Ke Kai Ola, the center’s Hawaiian monk seal hospital in Kailua-Kona.

The successful rescue, treatment and release of RH38 was made possible thanks to the center’s partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Kona Community Hospital and the U.S. Coast Guard.

“We’re ecstatic to give an animal that’s so dear to our hearts, like RH38, another chance in the wild,” said Dr. Sophie Whoriskey, associate director, Hawaii Conservation Medicine at The Marine Mammal Center. “Every seal matters for an endangered population.

“It was clear during her treatment that her tooth fracture, and the associated infection, was the primary cause of her inability to thrive in the wild, and we’re confident this won’t impact her anymore.”

During RH38’s nearly five months of treatment, a CT scan conducted in August by experts at Kona Community Hospital confirmed the severity of the tooth fracture and infection.

The marine center’s veterinary team performed additional diagnostics including X-rays, extensive abdominal ultrasound exams, and submitted a series of blood samples for diagnostic testing to check for signs of toxins or infectious disease. All tests came back negative.

Animal care experts offered RH38 a hearty and calorie-rich diet of sustainably caught herring, and she gained an impressive 100 pounds while in treatment, according to the center.

On Nov. 13, experts at the center noticed RH38 began to exhibit signs of significant behavioral stress that included the animal biting at its tail. While it’s not unusual for monk seals to display stress related behavior while in a rehabilitation setting, this seal’s stress behaviors were more severe.

Fortunately, RH38 had already passed a release exam and timing worked out so that the center’s team and partners at NOAA and Coast Guard were able to coordinate an immediate release in the best interest of her health.

The next day, the center’s team met with Coast Guard crew members at Kona International Airport to help load RH38 onto a C-130 aircraft for release back to Kauai.

“This has truly been a monk seal ‘ohana effort,” said Jamie Thomton, NOAA’s Kauai marine wildlife response coordinator. “RH38’s homecoming was a collective effort, and we especially want to thank our Kauai volunteers and community members.”

RH38 was born in 2016 and was first admitted to the center in 2017 for malnutrition and gastrointestinal parasites. She was released in good health and came back in 2019 with several health concerns, including severe traumatic myositis (muscle inflammation) that was diagnosed on CT scan, septicemic infection, kidney stones in both kidneys, urinary tract infection and presumed pneumonia.

Since 2014, the center has rehabilitated and released 45 monk seals, excluding RH38 who has been released three times. Most of these seals have been rescued from and returned to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument as part of the center’s partnership with NOAA.

There are only about 400 monk seals left in the main Hawaiian Islands, according to NOAA.