Tuesday, August 20

Whiskers...

 
Monk Seal Whiskers
 
RK52
 
 
Tuesday I attended a mandatory training for those individuals wanting to be volunteer
 responders for the Hawaiian Monk Seal.  I had been a volunteer responder when we lived on Molokai. I needed to attend the Kauai group training because they have a few different situations that were not common on Molokai...ie, dealing with tourist in the monk seals face. So today I learned to set up a SPZ (seal protection zone) and how to deal with the public or maybe I should say the Monk Seal paparazzi! It was an interesting and insightful training  and  I am looking forward to being a responder again.
 
These shots were taken last sunday, while R and I were at a beach on the north shore. This seal is a two year old female known as RK52, who has recently molted(basically she shed all of her hair and a layer of skin) and decided she wanted to snooze on the beach.
 a beautiful animal, all shiny and sporting a new gray coat
 
 dozens of peeps now have photos of her to show folks "back home"
 
some got a little too close...
 
 Here you see one of her identification tags,  K52
Red Tag--means she was born in the Main Hawaiian Islands
The "K" denotes the year she was born--2011
The 52 is like her social security number
 
.
 
She enjoyed her nap on the beach....paparazzi and all.
 
***please note all of my photos were taken from an appropriate distance with a zoom lens***
 
Aloha,
Val

15 comments:

  1. Isn't she beautiful!

    Could you perhaps tell us a little more about being a Responder and exactly what that entails and what do you do as one?

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  2. aww. good for you for protecting them.

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  3. Nice group of pictures!

    On several occasions on Oahu I've seen volunteer responders watching over both monk seals and turtles at various locations. Good for you for getting involved in this way!

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  4. Nice! What a meaningful way to be involved!!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  5. I love what you are doing over there Val. Cleaning up the beach, protecting the seals!! You rock!!

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  6. Gotta love those whiskers. We hope you can get volunteering soon - sounds like a rewarding time.

    Woos - Phantom, Ciara, and Lightning

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  7. Looks like it was a gorgeous day in paradise!

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  8. Hi there, This is interesting because when we saw them the volunteers let us get pretty close-I'm sure it was just a safe distance, but I was drooling all over the moms & pups. Thanks for sharing Val.
    Hugs, Noreen

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  9. Seals are awesome. We loved seeing them on the North Sea.

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  10. Love those whiskers! So great that you are helping look out for the seals!

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  11. so beautiful! you must feel so good helping them. :)

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  12. What a cutie! So adorable with thoes whiskers!

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Thanks for dropping by...I would love to hear what you think of our adventures, so please feel free to add a comment.