An endangered Hawaiian monk seal known to officials as L11 is displayed on a beach on Molokai Island, Hawaii. Federal officials said Tuesday that the seal was intentionally killed with a gun in September.
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An endangered Hawaiian monk seal known to officials as L11 is displayed on a beach on Molokai Island, Hawaii. Federal officials said Tuesday that the seal was intentionally killed with a gun in September.
Feedback Hawaiian marine animals via AP
HONOLULU – An endangered Hawaiian monk seal found dead on Molokai Island in September was intentionally killed with a gun, federal officials said Tuesday.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said in a statement that the young female seal suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
This is the third intentional killing of seals on the rural island in 2021 and the seventh in the past 10 years, according to NOAA. Two other people were killed by “straight force trauma” on Molokai in April.
The NOAA statement said: “The intentional killing of this endangered species is devastating the recovery of this population.
Only a few hundred lion seals remain in the main Hawaiian Islands. About 1,100 others live in the remote, uninhabited Northwest Hawaiian Islands. The endangered seals are found nowhere else.
The cause of death of some of the other seals on the island was not determined as decomposing or the carcass drifting into the sea before an autopsy was conducted.
Killing endangered species is a state and federal crime and the deaths are under investigation. Historically, monk seals were sometimes thought of as a nuisance or competition with anglers.
At a news conference on Tuesday, state officials said they had no indication who could be responsible for the “grave” killings.
“Make no mistake, these intentional killings are vile, despicable acts perpetrated against an endangered animal species,” said Jason Redulla, Hawaii’s Chief of Conservation and Resources Enforcement. strains in their natural habitat. “Those responsible should be held accountable.”
The murders are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison, Redulla said.
Suzanne Case, president of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, noted local outrage at tourists who harassed monk seals earlier this year and called for a similar response to the incident. Kill the seal shot in the head.
“The time has passed for anyone with information about the killing of this seal and others to step forward,” Case said. “Earlier this year, many people were outraged when a tourist smacked a seal on the back and we believe the level of outrage we’ve seen in relation to that incident will exceed that of the shooting behaviour. (this seal) and others made by human hands.”
