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Hawaiian Monk Seal Updates

Get the latest monk seal updates from NOAA Fisheries in the Pacific Islands.

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Back to the Beach in 2025: Four Successful Seal Rehabilitations

May 12, 2025

A Hawaiian monk seal peers through a tiny window in its pen aboard a boat as it awaits relocation to its island home after a long recovery period.
Endangered Hawaiian monk seals DT46 (shown here) and DT48 caught a ride back to Papahānaumokuākea with NOAA Fisheries field camp researchers. The seals were outfitted with temporary satellite tags to track their movements after release. Credit NOAA Fisheries/Claudia Cedillo (Permit #24359)

Monk seals in need of the “3 Rs”—rescue, rehab, and release—have kept us and our partners busy this year! We’re happy to share that four endangered Hawaiian monk seals are back in the wild after receiving expert, life-saving care at The Marine Mammal Center’s Hawaiian monk seal hospital, Ke Kai Ola.

The seals suffered varying medical issues, ranging from malnourishment to physical injuries. Their chances of survival were grim without medical intervention. But thanks to collaborative response efforts and The Center’s medical resources and specialized care, the seals are healthy again and home in their native habitat.

With only about 1,600 Hawaiian monk seals left in the world, we take our responsibility to recover the population very seriously. Rehabilitations like these move us one step closer to our goal of removing Hawaiian monk seals from the endangered species list. 

Learn more about these four seals with a new outlook on life!

DT46 and DT48

Two Hawaiian monk seals, just released back into the wild in the turquoise waters of Papahanaumokuakea, are equipped with satellite tags to track their movements. They're near the shoreline, swimming towards it, as waves gently lap the sand.
Endangered Hawaiian monk seals DT46 and DT48 take their first swim back in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument after receiving life-saving care in Kona, Hawaiʻi. Credit: NOAA Fisheries (Permit #24359)

Our seasonal field camp staff rescued monk seal pups DT46 (male) and DT48 (female) while conducting monk seal research in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The pups were underweight, and their chance of survival through the winter was less than 1 percent. The Center treated them for malnutrition and gastrointestinal parasites. Our field camp staff released them this month on Tern Island in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The pair spent a short time exploring their surroundings before going for the water. Maybe one day they'll run into their recovery companion DT12. Also an underweight pup, she was rescued with the pair and released back to Papahānaumokuākea in 2024. Based on signals from her temporary satellite tag, DT12 has been broadly exploring her surroundings.

Learn more about DT12’s journey

R419

Two side-by-side photographs of a Hawaiian monk seal. In the photo on the left, the seal is in a treatment facility and appears severely underweight, with bones visible beneath its skin. In the photo on the right, the seal appears healthy and is swimming in the ocean.
Left: When endangered Hawaiian monk seal R419 arrived at The Marine Mammal Center's Hawaiian monk seal hospital, Ke Kai Ola, the seal was severely underweight and only weighed 145 lbs. Credit: The Marine Mammal Center © (NOAA Permit #24359) Right: Upon release, R419 weighed a healthy 258 lbs. Credit: NOAA Fisheries (Permit #24359)

R419 is one of the more severe monk seal medical cases we’ve seen recently. An O‘ahu community member reported the ailing seal, expressing concern about his appearance. When we collected him from the beach, he was severely underweight. The Center treated the male for multiple, infected injuries, some caused by another male seal. R419 had several large abscesses on his back and many smaller ones. He also had traumatic injuries to his right front flipper, causing the loss of a partial middle digit and fractures of 4 of 5 of his digits. The Center treated R419 with antibiotics, deworming and pain medications, and dietary supplements. We and partners released R419 in April. R419 made a remarkable recovery—gaining approximately 100 healthy pounds during treatment!

RS52

Two women crouch on either sides of a large animal holding pen, holding up boards, as they wait for an endangered Hawaiian monk seal to continue on out into the water. Islands are visible in the background under a cloudy sky.
It's homecoming day for endangered Hawaiian monk seal RS52! The juvenile male was released back on Maui in January 2025 after receiving treatment for malnutrition and parasites at The Marine Mammal Center's Hawaiian monk seal hospital, Ke Kai Ola. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Kilali Gibson (Permit #24359)

Last but not least is the juvenile male monk seal RS52. We and partners rescued RS52 on Maui after observing that he was losing weight at an alarming rate. The Center staff treated RS52 for malnutrition and gastrointestinal parasites. We jointly released him back on Maui in January after he received a clean bill of health. Since his release, RS52 has been sighted along the south shores of Maui. In April, he was also spotted on the island of Lāna‘i, which is where he was born in 2023.

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Last updated by Pacific Islands Regional Office on 05/14/2025

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On Shipwreck Beach on the south coast of Kauai, Hawaii, an endangered Hawaiian monk seal takes a nap on the beach. The sign in the foreground instructs people to walk around the seal.