The death of Uilani, a 2-year-old Hawaiian monk seal that once lived under Joni Bagood’s house on Mokauea Island in Keehi Lagoon, was like losing a young family member she watched grow and whose playful antics she enjoyed.
“She was a blessing, one of God’s creatures,” said Bagood, her voice breaking with emotion in a telephone interview. “I’m sad she’s gone. … When it’s a rough day, when I did see her, I just thanked the Lord for allowing her to be a part of my day.”
Her antics not only endeared her to the Bagoods and their grandkids, but to New Hope Canoe Club and other canoe clubs at Mauli Ola at Keehi Boat Harbor.
In October 2013, young Uilani led the canoes at the start of the inaugural fundraising canoe race for Mokauea Island, out to the open ocean.
“That was such a chicken skin (moment), to hear from them,” Bagood said. New Hope adopted her as their mascot.
She returned for the second race in May 2014.
Uilani, tagged by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as RN36/37, died Thursday, the second young female to die recently on Oahu. A 3-year-old, RL54, or Kaika‘ina, was found earlier on the North Shore.
David Schofield, regional marine mammal response coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the deaths appear unrelated.
“While we have had two young seals die three weeks apart, we are not seeing an increase in the mortality of monk seals on the main Hawaiian islands,” he said. The seal population here is about 200.
Uilani was seen Nov. 8 in the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. On Monday, the Hawaiian Monk Seal Health Program staff and volunteers found her “severely lethargic and compromised” at Kaiser Beach in Waikiki, Schofield said.
She was taken to a hospital facility on Ford Island and given fluids, vitamin supplements and antibiotics, but she did not respond, he said.
“By the time we got to her, there was little hope for survival,” Schofield said. Her bloodwork showed she may have been suffering from some disease or combination of diseases.
A necropsy was conducted Friday, but tissue samples were sent out so it will take a while for the results. There were no obvious signs for stranding, such as hooks, plastics or foreign debris, or any bruises or blunt force trauma to suggest human interaction, Schofield said.
Bagood first noticed Uilani when the 3-month-old pup began frolicking in the lagoon and sleeping under her house, raised at least 3 feet above water at high tide.
“It was like a human,” she said. “You could hear her snore.”
She added: “She had those big, puppy-eye looks. They have that look of humbleness, cute, sweet look. I can understand people want to go up and pet them, talk to them.”
As hard as it was, the Bagood family, caretakers of the island, refrained from physically interacting with Uilani. Bagood contacted NOAA and learned the do’s and don’ts.
“As much as we wanted her around, we needed to shoo her off because there was a lot of motorboat traffic,” she said. “This is a marina and our house is fronting the channel.”
She had to tie a rope to a bucket to slap the surface of the water, which would cause her to take off.
Kaika‘ina had been dead for at least a week when found. Her body was too badly decomposed to harvest tissue for investigation.
X-rays were taken, but no signs of injury from plastics or marine debris were found. The cause of death may never be known, Schofield said.
“It’s broken our hearts,” said Dana Jones, Monk Seal Foundation response coordinator, who oversees 150 volunteers, of the latest death. “It’s been … really, really tough … to lose two females. We spend so many hours raising these animals after they’re weaned. It’s a lot of love.”
