Nature

A place to discussion nature on Farcaster

Back in NYC after six weeks in Hawaii, this #MonkSealMonday, I'm dropping a new edition that I hope will help continue to raise awareness of these beautiful animals and the challenges they face even as efforts are underway to preserve them for future generations.

Link ⬇️

Keola is one of our 2025 Hawaiian monk seal pups, and was born to Lei Ola (#MonkSealRH48), who I had the opportunity to watch as a volunteer when she was born in 2016. Hawaiian monk seal mothers typically pup where they were born, but Lei Ola did not.

Wildlife and landscape photographer from Hawaii. All photos copyrighted. More images on my website: www.jasonorourke.com

https://foundation.app/collection/honu

This may be because her birth beach has been disturbed by new construction, as they begin to try to build new luxury condos next to the beach, and probably less than 100 yards from a birth beach used by Hawaiian monk seals for generations.

5/ (I cannot number anything...)

Each new Hawaiian monk seal pup represents A Fresh New Start, which is why protecting these prime birth beaches is a critical piece of the recovery efforts.

6/ Keola gets a fresh new start on a remote corner of Oahu, but as development continues to encroach on our wild spaces, how do we ensure that we can coexist, and protect critical birth beaches for future generations?

5/ (I cannot number anything...)

Each new Hawaiian monk seal pup represents A Fresh New Start, which is why protecting these prime birth beaches is a critical piece of the recovery efforts.

https://manifold.xyz/@jason-orourke/id/4206104816

4/ When the Hawaiian monk seal population started to decline, a primary cause identified by researchers was the loss of prime birth beaches due to the increased presence of people in the Northwest Hawaiian islands.

In recent years, we've seen the population begin to rebound.