At first, Hawaiiloa Mowat thought it was a cat.
The lifelong Moloka驶i resident rushed outside May 31 after hearing his dogs bark loudly in the front yard. Mowat had no reason to think a monk seal had hauled itself ashore in the moonlight.
The animals never show up in his beachfront Hawaiian homestead community of Kapa驶akea or the surrounding southern shore.
But when the year-old seal RU99 appeared that night in a grassy space between two of Mowat鈥檚 parked cars 鈥� and then kept coming back 鈥� he picked the home of one of Moloka驶i鈥檚 most popular social media presences.
Local seal advocates hope that remarkable, chance pairing will pay dividends on an island that still grapples with misinformation about the seals and sees occasional, deliberate killings by people. Mowat鈥檚 often endearing posts about RU99, whom he calls 鈥淟ino-boy鈥� to his more than 14,000 followers, are already helping sway local opinion, they say.
鈥淭hat guy can do more for this species than I could ever do,鈥� said Liz Campbell, a volunteer who鈥檚 helped collect monk seal data on the island for the past seven years. 鈥淎nd what I鈥檓 finding when I go out is just how the conversation has changed with him.鈥�
鈥淚f a seal could pick the best spot on Moloka驶i to haul ashore,鈥� Campbell said, 鈥渋t would be that guy鈥檚 house that you would go to.鈥�
Such impact is critical to help the seals on Moloka驶i, Campbell and others say. Several months before RU99 came ashore at Kapa驶akea, the necropsy for a different seal revealed at least one bullet in the animal鈥檚 body. The seal was originally found alive but emaciated on Moloka驶i鈥檚 Mo驶omomi Beach. It failed to recover and died in a rehabilitation center on Hawai驶i island.
Federal investigators concluded the 7-year-old seal, RL80, didn鈥檛 actually die from the bullet. Instead, it perished because its jaw had broken after getting wrapped in stray fishing gear, leaving it unable to eat. The death follows a spate of monk seal killings on Moloka驶i in 2023 and .
On Saturday, another seal carcass was found on Mo驶omomi, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials confirmed. It was badly decomposed, they said, making it unlikely wildlife officials will be able to determine the seal鈥檚 cause of death.
鈥榃arrior Spirit鈥�
Moloka驶i has had an especially complicated, fraught relationship with Hawaiian monk seals as the endangered marine mammals have gradually reappeared along the Main Hawaiian Islands in recent decades. There are only about 1,600 Hawaiian monk seals left in the wild, making them one of the world鈥檚 most endangered species. Roughly 400 of those seals live around the populated Main Hawaiian Islands while the rest live in the federally protected remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Many of Moloka驶i鈥檚 mostly Native Hawaiian residents depend on hunting and fishing for food. Some local fishers and outside groups erroneously assert and don鈥檛 belong on the island.
鈥淵ou know Moloka鈥榠, we鈥檙e not 100% subsistence but largely we rely on the resources. And so, I think it鈥檚 just that warrior spirit to protect everything,鈥� Mowat said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more of a misconception of this creature,鈥� he said, adding that the attacks on the seals likely come from people who believe they are protecting their fish resources.
For some residents, the attention the seals get from federal officials compared to the attention the community gets illustrates what they see as long-running inequalities and government neglect toward the locals, fueling further resentment of the seals. Roughly 7,300 people live on the 260-square-mile island, part of Maui Nui.
Like many on Moloka驶i, Mowat never saw monk seals there when he was young. They hadn鈥檛 yet returned to the main islands after nearly being hunted to extinction in the 19th century.
When RU99 first bounced up into Mowat鈥檚 yard, the 45-year-old homesteader and land steward had plenty of questions. Why did the seal go there, of all places? Typically, they appear on the island鈥檚 western and eastern shores. Was he OK? How should Mowat respond?
鈥淲ho do you call on a Sunday night on Moloka驶i for one of these in your yard?鈥� he quipped before panning his camera phone to show RU99 in the Instagram video documenting their first encounter.
In a later interview, Mowat said he wound up staying up through the night to make sure his dogs wouldn鈥檛 harass or harm the resting seal. 鈥淥nce I saw they were cool with it, it kind of took a lot of weight off my shoulders.鈥�
The Hawaiian name for the monk seal is 驶墨lioholoikauaua, which means the 鈥渄og that runs in rough water.鈥�
鈥楢n Opportunistic Creature鈥�
When Todd Yamashita, Moloka驶i鈥檚 lead coordinator for the nonprofit Hawai驶i Marine Animal Response, heard the juvenile seal had surprisingly hauled ashore in the Kapa驶akea homesteads and in Mowat鈥檚 yard of all places, he wasn鈥檛 sure what to think.
Mowat is passionate and outspoken on Moloka驶i issues. But where did he come down on the monk seal issue? Would he welcome RU99? Turns out, Yamashita didn鈥檛 have to worry.
鈥淎s soon as I made contact with him, it was 101 questions for me. What is this seal? Oh, you know about this seal? And I was like, 鈥極K, here we go!,鈥欌�� Yamashita recalled with a chuckle. 鈥淗e knows where to keep the dogs so that there鈥檚 no ifs, ands, or buts about the seal being in danger.鈥�
Mowat immersed himself in the seals鈥� history and place in Hawai驶i. He learned of the animals鈥� decimation by fur traders in the 19th century. In an interview with Civil Beat, he cited by memory a notable verse in , the Hawaiian creation chant: 鈥渉e 鈥榠ole ko uka, he 鈥檌ole ko kai,鈥� or 鈥渁 rat in the upland, a rat by the sea.鈥�
鈥淵ou can think about how our k奴puna saw these creatures,鈥� Mowat said. 鈥淜ind of like an opportunistic creature, and so almost like a rat, you know?鈥�
He wanted to name RU99 H艒k奴 for the phase of the moon the night he first came ashore, but he later learned the seal had already been named Namaka驶ele驶艒lino, or Dark Shiny Eyes, after he was rescued as an abandoned 2-week-old pup from the shorebreak on Moloka驶i鈥檚 rugged east side. Thus, Mowat鈥檚 thousands of followers know RU99 simply as Lino-boy.
Yamashita, who鈥檚 dedicated years working with the seals, has a theory for why RU99 has taken to resting on Mowat and his neighbors鈥� homestead properties. The seal was raised on the concrete surfaces of Ke Kai Ola monk seal hospital in Kailua-Kona, where RL80 was being treated around the same time on Hawai驶i island.
Hospital staff released RU99 back into the wild in April, when he was about 9 months old. Nearly two months later, he showed up at Mowat鈥檚 house.
鈥淗e鈥檚 at some random person鈥檚 carport, under the stairs. So guarantee the seal, he鈥檚 just looking for a slab to sleep on, you know what I mean?鈥� Yamashita said. 鈥淪o he鈥檚 hearing people and he鈥檚 coming toward the crowd, but it鈥檚 not because he wants to join the party. It鈥檚 because he knows where there鈥檚 people, there鈥檚 concrete. Simple as that.鈥�
The young seal has continued to haul up at Kapa驶akea throughout the summer.
鈥楾he New Flashpoint鈥�
More Moloka驶i residents have come to accept or at least tolerate the seals in recent years, Campbell and Yamashita said. Still, deliberate killings and suspicious deaths occasionally occur.
When they do, it鈥檚 usually at Mo驶omomi. The remote and hard-to-reach beach has long been the center of debate about how to best protect Moloka驶i鈥檚 marine resources.
After watching the fish stocks there dwindle, some community members proposed making Mo驶omomi the state鈥檚 first Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area where its marine resources would be protected through traditional management practices.
The effort didn鈥檛 succeed on Moloka驶i but it has taken hold in other and Hawai驶i island.
Some of the same people who lobbied against creating the Mo驶omomi CBFSA, Moloka驶i resident La鈥榓 Poepoe said, have also spread misinformation about the monk seals competing for fishers鈥� catches.
The monk seal, Yamashita added, 鈥渋s the new flashpoint鈥� at Mo驶omomi.
When Mowat was younger, another monk seal, KP2, would sometimes take fish off his line while swimming offshore at Kapa驶ahea. The fish he usually took were invasive, so Mowat saw the act as helping the marine environment.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 where the misunderstanding comes. A lot of people don鈥檛 realize that it has a mixed diet,鈥� Mowat said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e taking shellfish, he鈥榚 (octopus), it鈥檚 taking different species and keeping our invasives in check.鈥�
For now, he said, 鈥渋t鈥檚 our job to make sure that we m膩lama these creatures.鈥�
Campbell has come to see monk seals and Native Hawaiians as kindred spirits. 鈥淚 may be biased or ultra positive but I do think this island will eventually be the best place for the seals because of the people,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that once they embrace something, that makes it safe. Hawaiiloa is showing us.鈥�
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