Rocky, the first Hawaiian monk seal known to have given birth at Kaimana Beach in Waikiki, has once again befuddled experts by delivering a pup at a completely new location this summer when most females of her species return to their birthplace for that monumental task.

Rocky, known to researchers as RH58, gave birth June 13 to a female pup at Nimitz Beach in Kalaeloa. It’s the 26-year-old monk seal’s 16th pup, having opted for three different birth sites over the past few years.

Although experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say mom and pup appear healthy, volunteers are calling for more oversight of human behaviors that threaten their survival, particularly over the Fourth of July weekend.

Volunteer Michelle Poppler, an Ewa Beach resident, said there have been instances of people throwing trash and beer bottles at Rocky and her pup and signs of tire tracks in the sand near them, along with kids and unleashed dogs simply getting too close to the pair.

Fishermen also have set up their poles near the monk seals, which are expected to nurse for five to seven weeks.

Poppler reported the incidents to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources but said there appears to be confusion over who has jurisdiction at Nimitz Beach.

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DLNR said in a written response that the beach is now managed by the City and County of Honolulu and that witnesses who see people drinking or littering there should call 911.

“The Honolulu Police Department is aware that seals are protected,” DLNR said, “and would be the fastest to respond and document for possible prosecution by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, who, under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act has jurisdiction over monk seal take, pursuit, hunt, harassment, capture, annoyance.”

DLNR said it nevertheless sent Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers to investigate the recent complaints and “found no clear evidence that any of the reported activity is happening, certainly not to the degree being conveyed.”

DOCARE units are conducting checks as frequently as possible, the department said, but cannot issue citations or make arrests over the “take” of marine mammals, which falls under NOAA’s jurisdiction.

NOAA, however, says off-leash dogs and vehicles on beaches should be reported to police or DLNR.

The state agency said it has put up fencing that stretches from the parking area to the waterline to protect the nursing area, but Poppler said Rocky and pup moved beyond it a week ago, yet the fence has not been adjusted.

“Rocky, our celebrity seal, does not have her VIP treatment,” she said. “This is just as big of a deal on a more populated beach on the wild, wild west side.”

Indeed, the first time Rocky, a Kauai-born seal, gave birth to a pup at Kaimana Beach in June 2017, wildlife authorities set up a perimeter and led a coordinated effort among multiple agencies to keep the pair safe.

Several pups have since been born at Kaimana Beach to different females, and officials usually set up an extensive perimeter around the sand and wait for the pup to wean before relocating it.

Another female monk seal, Kaiwi, has given birth at the popular beach four times, with the latest a female pup born in May and named ‘Anela ‘Auinala by Waikiki Elementary School students.

After she was weaned, NOAA relocated ‘Anela to a quieter, more remote beach on Oahu.

Dana Jones, executive director of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Preservation Ohana said Nimitz Beach is a very challenging spot for the endangered seals to nurse due to its popularity as a spot for camping, fishing, tide pool swimming, after-hours parties and the presence of off-leash dogs.

Jones is particularly worried about the uptick in activity over Fourth of July weekend but was relieved to find a cadre of volunteers who pledged to watch over Rocky and her pup overnight.

Hawaiian monk seals are among the most endangered seal species in the world, with only an estimated 1,600 remaining in the wild. They give birth year-round, but peak pupping season is typically from March to August.

When exposed to repeated human disturbances, mother monk seals may get spooked and abandon their pups, NOAA has warned, cutting the critical nursing period short and reducing the pup’s chances of survival.

But maintaining distance from the protected marine mammals is also a matter of human safety.

After Rocky gave birth to a pup at Kaimana Beach for the second time in 2022, she went after a California woman who was swimming parallel to shore. The woman suffered lacerations to her back and was able to get out of the water with help from bystanders. DLNR conducted an investigation and found she was not at fault but simply in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”

NOAA recommends choosing another beach when there’s a protective monk seal mom and pup, but most people do not appear to take that advice. Otherwise, the recommendation is to stay at least 150 feet — the equivalent of about four city buses — from a nursing pair, both on shore and in the water.

NOAA’s nonprofit partner, Hawaii Marine Animal Response, has two dedicated volunteers who are out at Nimitz Beach daily monitoring the seals and educating the public, but they depart at 6 p.m.

Poppler said she has been given the runaround by various city, state and federal authorities over who to report violations to, some of which have been documented on video and shared to social media.

She asserts that people throwing beer bottles at Rocky is just as egregious as the man who was allegedly seen throwing a rock at a seal in Lahaina, Maui, in May. Igor Lytvynchuk of Washington state has since pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

In a separate case, NOAA in 2024 fined a North Shore couple $20,000 after their unleashed dogs killed a newborn Hawaiian monk seal pup in Mokuleia.

Rocky has given birth to 12 pups on Kauai, where she was born, and twice at Kaimana Beach. In 2024, she gave birth to a pup at Sand Island State Recreation Area, also a first. The location was risky for the nursing pair due to weekend crowds and the presence of off-leash dogs and feral cats.

Volunteers are keeping vigilance at Nimitz Beach, hoping Rocky’s pup makes it to weaning time without incident.

“I just want people to act like responsible grown-ups,” Jones said, “and that’s not always possible.”

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Monk seal guidelines

>> Keep a respectful distance of at least 150 feet from mom-pup pairs and at least 50 feet from all other monk seals on shore and in the water.

>> If a mom-pup pair is present, go somewhere else to swim. Hawaiian monk seal mothers can be protective of their pups and have bitten people in the past.

>> Keep dogs leashed. Pets can transmit diseases to wild animals and vice versa. Also, stressful dog encounters may cause a seal to react aggressively or leave the area.

>> If you spot a seal, call NOAA’s Marine Wildlife Hotline at 888-256-9840.

>> To report a violation, NOAA recommends providing eyewitness accounts with dates, times, locations and clear photos or videos, if possible, along with descriptions and license plate numbers to NOAA Office of Law Enforcement at 800-853-1964 or respectwildlife@noaa.gov.

Source: NOAA