and she Shall be Called Ola Loa…

To the Hawaiian people, their endangered Monk Seal - one of the rarest animals on earth - is sacred.

2014 was not a good year for the precious Monk. Too many deaths. Too many disappearances. Too few births. It felt as though the Hawaiian Monk Seal was losing ground; conservation was failing…

The news of the first birth of the new year, 2015, was joyous. The pup, a female, was born on the north shore of O’ahu. NOAA Fisheries would soon tag her RG03.

But the Hawaiian people would give her a proper Hawaiian name. The Kama‘aina considered…. and it was decided… “ she shall be called Ola Loa.”

In Hawaiian, the pup’s name translates to “long life”; a sentiment of hope for this endangered species.

The pup’s location was kept intentionally vague, somewhere north of Turtle Bay Resort. I would find her in predawn hours if I walked a mile north along the beach until I came upon the yellow tape that cordoned off a ‘safe space‘ for the nursing pup and her mom. I would be the first this morning. Before the morning beach walkers. Before the volunteer guardian. Before the curious. Before any other photographer. Free, outside of the prohibited area, to pick the primo spot for a 400mm f/2.8 lens and tripod. For awhile, I, alone, would watch…

In the gray light, pup begins to stretch. Mom is motionless. Born black, the pup, now 30 days old, will begin to gray soon, She is still nursing and markedly well-developed, feeding on seal milk high in fat.

Nursing moms fast while lactating. This mom appeared very thin and she will need to feed soon.

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