Monk Seals interacting with honu
Kukio Golf and Beach Club personnel reported 5 severly injured/dead turtles between March 19, 2021 and March 23, 2021. All 5 of the turtles exhibited similar injuries: damage to the upper eyelids, scales missing or injured on the trailing edges of the front flippers and very low energy level. All 5 of the honu eventually died.
Below is an interivew with a couple of visitors at Kukio who observed a Monk Seal honu interaction.
This video was captured by a kayaker off of the west coast of Hawaii Island and shows a monk seal “playing ” with a juvenile turtle. The turtle is being kept under the water and appears to be nearly exhausted and probably becoming anoxic. We don’t know the fate of this honu but we do know that there have been other honu that have not survivied such an encounter with a Hawaiiian Monk Seal.
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