A young female Hawaiian monk seal is recovering in Honolulu after undergoing emergency surgery to remove her infected right eye.

Federal officials said the endangered mammal was found on Niihau and was losing weight due to its inability to feed itself.

After the surgery, the seal has shown a great appetite, said Dr. Michelle Barbieri, conservation medicine veterinarian with the Marine Mammal Center, the California group helping in its care.

"It’s really an encouraging sign in her recovery," she said. "So far things are looking pretty good."

An estimated 1,100 Hawaiian monk seals live in the Hawaiian Islands, far fewer than the 2,800 needed to remain sustainable as a species, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The seal, 1 to 2 years old and identified as R1KU, was flown to Oahu aboard a Coast Guard C-130 as part of a regular training flight, said David Schofield, NOAA’s marine mammal response manager in Hawaii.

"It didn’t add any more cost to the taxpayers," Schofield said.

Schofield said efforts were made to save the seal because the Hawaiian monk seal is "the most critically endangered marine mammal species in the United States."

"This is a female, and the females are very, very important to the breeding cycles and very, very important to the recovery of the species," he said.

R1KU was discovered on Niihau in late January and on Feb. 25 was flown to Oahu, where she underwent surgery Wednesday at the Honolulu Zoo.

The seal, weighing only 95 pounds, was in need of help after losing weight to the point where her hips and spine were becoming more visible, Barbieri said,

"She’s pretty small," Barbieri said.

Barbieri, whose group assisted federal officials in preparing for the surgery, said the normal weight of a female adult is about 400 pounds.

R1KU is at least a couple of years short of being an adult.

She said that during surgery, doctors had a closer look at the injury and found it’s very likely something snagged the eye.

"Something had ripped down and punctured the actual eyeball itself," she said. "The lower eyelid had a laceration as well."

She said doctors were unable to determine whether the injury was human-related.

She said seals with only one eye can do quite well in the wild.

Officials said the Robinson family of Niihau reported that the seal had an injury to the right eye, and a federal team was sent to assess the animal and treat her with antibiotics.

The animal continued to lose weight, and it was decided to transport her to Oahu.

"We’re very, very thankful to the Robinson family for notifying us," Schofield said.

Officials said the seal is receiving around-the-clock care at the new NOAA facility on Ford Island.