NOAA and its partners moved a 5-year-old male monk seal on Friday from Hawaii Island to Laysan Island in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument because he was nipping and biting swimmers, according to the federal agency. 

What You Need To Know

  • NOAA said in a news release that they initially received reports in Dec. 2023 that a seal, known as RL72, was approaching divers and nipping fins and dive equipment in the Makako Bay area on Hawaii Island

  • NOAA decided RL72’s behavior might warrant intervention and started monitoring the seal

  • After they started monitoring, NOAA said RL72’s “behavior with ocean users increased and escalated.”

  • Trained responders with the Marine Mammal Center, a nonprofit based on Hawaii Island that works with NOAA, caught RL72 last Tuesday. He is now traveling to Laysan Island in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument 

NOAA said in a news release that they initially received reports in Dec. 2023 that the seal, known as RL72, was approaching divers and nipping fins and dive equipment in the Makako Bay area. One report said RL72 bit a diver on the head, although it was not a serious injury. NOAA said they reviewed footage of the incident and the diver was not interacting with the seal or provoking the bite. 

NOAA officials decided RL72’s behavior might warrant intervention and started monitoring the seal.

“We established serious behavior triggers that would prompt intervention, including behavior that posed a risk of serious injury or drowning to humans,” NOAA said in a news release. 

After they started monitoring, NOAA said RL72’s “behavior with ocean users increased and escalated.” He followed ocean users during the day and at night, biting gear, nipping at arms, and mounting scuba divers. 

“In one instance, RL72 mounted and held onto a diver during a daytime dive. In another instance, RL72 bit a snorkeler on the back, deep enough to penetrate their wetsuit and cause a puncture injury,” the news release said. 

Trained responders with the Marine Mammal Center, a nonprofit based on Hawaii Island that works with NOAA, caught RL72 last Tuesday. The monk seal is now traveling to his new abode on a two-day boat journey. Laysan Island (also known as Kamole) is home to more than 200 Hawaiian monk seals. 

“We believe that in this remote location — away from people and surrounded by many more monk seals than at Hawaii Island — RL72 has the greatest chance at returning to normal wild seal behaviors,” the news release said.

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