Content
@
https://superrare.com
0 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Jason🎩
@jasonophoto
A super rare coincidence while traveling on Kauai... I actually spotted a Hawaiian monk seal who recently hauled out on a beach, and when I identified him, I realized that it was RK58, the baby Hawaiian monk seal that I featured in my edition, The Rescue. For more about The Rescue, check the link below.
18 replies
7 recasts
21 reactions
Ambi🙌🏼
@ambi
How long was it between those photos?
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Jason🎩
@jasonophoto
About five years… even though I regularly visit Kauai, and he is seen fairly frequently, I hadn’t come across him since I left him on that beach, the night before he was rescued. 🤙🏼💙🦭
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Ambi🙌🏼
@ambi
Oh that's interesting! How were you able to recognize him?
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Jason🎩
@jasonophoto
Most of the seals born in the main Hawaiian islands are tagged, so there is a piece of plastic pierced through the webbing on their rear flippers. For main Hawaiian monk seals, this is a red plastic, followed by a letter/number combination. So RK58 indicates that he has a red tag, with the K58 on one, and K59 on the other. Once I got a good photo of his rear flippers, I was able to zoom in and veryify his ID.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Ambi🙌🏼
@ambi
I understand. Was thinking it must have been some kind of tag, but didn't know it was on the flippers!
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
Jason🎩
@jasonophoto
Yep, but they don’t all have tags, so sometimes the volunteers will use scars of natural bleach marks (a spot of white fur). Since the population is so small, those can be identifying marks. For me, though, I either get a tag or I send my photos in to the team, and someone confirms the ID. There are a few I can do by scars or bleach marks, but I like to be sure.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
