NOAA confirms newborn monk seal killed in dog attack

HALEIWA, Hawaii – NOAA Fisheries confirmed that a dog attacked and killed a newborn monk seal pup on the North Shore of Oahu last month.

“The puncture wounds on the puppy occurred before his death and were comparable in size to dog bites. The bleeding observed in the puppy’s body was consistent with shaking following a dog attack,” NOAA Fisheries said in a press release.

The female monk seal pup was born to Luana (also known as RN58) and the pair were first spotted together on May 23. According to NOAA Fisheries, the dog attack occurred that same evening.

NOAA Fisheries said the loss is all the more profound knowing that the monk seal pup was a female that could have given birth to generations of new seals, contributing to the recovery of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is investigating and said an individual is cooperating with authorities.

This is the third known death of a monk seal from a dog attack. Last year, a three-month-old female monk seal was killed by a dog on Oahu. Hoʻomau Lehua (also known as RS48) had puncture wounds around her head and flippers that NOAA said were consistent with dog bites. In 2014, another pup (RFX4) was killed by a dog on Kauai.

NOAA Fisheries requested that monk seal mothers and their pups be given at least 150 feet of separation and that dogs be kept on a leash on the beach.

The federal agency is also asking the public to protect the endangered Hawaiian monk seals by reporting sightings, injuries and strandings to the nationwide NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline at 888-256-9840.