Sealed fate - Hawaii News

Molokai residents say a federal agency should not have removed a Hawaiian monk seal without their consent By Gary T. Kubota POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 22, 2009 Return to Paginated View Molokai residents flew to Oahu to protest a federal agency's removal of a nearly blind Hawaiian monk seal from waters off Kaunakakai.

[Jls]

Maybe what should have happened is the Molokai community talking to its residents about KP2 before NOAA was contacted. It was an honor for Molokai to have the seal adopt it, but the community also had a responsibiltiy to keep it safe. Having the seal acclimate to human contact...and people encouraging that contact would be a difficult dilemma and not safe. I don't like seeing it possibly leave the islands, but if it can't be left in the wild and undisturbed then it needs to at least be safe.

[no_need]

some people take things too far. "stole our seal"?? come on. kp2 isn't someone's cute puppy. he has been observed exhibiting aggressive behavior. if he had inadvertantly drowned one of the kids, the community would be in an uproar. noaa would be held responsible for failing to keep the community safe and there would be calls to euthanize kp2.

i believe that noaa did the best thing it could do to protect all parties concerned.

[Kuokoa]

Walter Ritte has lost his mind. Too much pakalolo.

[Jerry]

The people of Molokai may have learned an important lesson, when you allow our government to have more power, they will use that power, whether you like it or not. I wonder when the rest of the people will learn that lesson?

[Idiots]

"Stole Our Seal?" Are you folks total morons? This is a wild animal we're talking about. Would you do the same for a mountain lion or bear? Of course not. Then, when the first person, or child, gets bitten or killed, you complain that no one did anything. Sheesh! Get real.

[local boy from niu valley]

now i've heard it all. walter ritte protesting the loss of a seal???

[willie]

Same folks who wanted to steal the ranch land because the owner would not cave in to their demands.

You want less government great, no more welfare checks...let me know how that works for you.

Stole our seal..indeed....guess it would have been better to let KP2 go all the way blind and get creamed by a boat or eaten by a shark.

[MrLingle]

idiots...go back to molokai and worry about something real, like the water situation....dumb @ss inbreads,,,

[journeygurl777]

When I saw this on the news, I couldn't believe it. There are certainly more significant issues to get "fired up" about on Molokai. High unemployment, drugs, water issues...Man,lose money flying to Honolulu to protest over a seal. Can't take them seriously at all.

[Fisherman]

The last paragraph of Mr. Kubota's article is misleading at best. It implies that the Hawaiian Monk Seal is thriving and the population is growing. I thought the opposite was true? Everything I've read states that Monk Seal numbers are decreasing rapidly and it's the most critically endangered marine mammal in the U.S..(On the Brink of Extinction). For the last two or three years I had hoped that NOAA and Schofeild's PR/Outreach people were getting their act together in regard to terrible and potentially damaging misinformation that finds its way into the press. Is it Kubota's fault for writing this, or is it NOAA's for not making sure that incorrect journalism is making it seem the Hawaiian Monk Seal is doing just fine?

[Kauakea]

Protesting the seal's removal because you "didn't get to say goodbye." Now I've heard everything.

As others have said, when the first person gets seriously hurt by this seal there will be a stampede to the government's door with people questioning why this wasn't taken care of before hand and wondering how much money can be made off of the tragedy. Of course, they will never look at the fact that, when they feed a seal, they are encouraging such behavior and they should be pointing the finger at themselves.

No wonder they are upset at not being able to say goodbye. They thought that this wild animal was their pet.

[Loco Yeehah]

Kuokoa wrote:

Walter Ritte has lost his mind. Too much pakalolo.

Uncle Waltah is getting a little "out there." If he wants to claim that the seal somehow belonged to Moloka`i, then in fact, its rightful "owners" would be the people of Kaua`i, where it was born.

I think Uncle Waltah was just envisioning a Moloka'i version of Sea Life Park - one blind monk seal in a fishpond.$10 admission.

[No Surprise]

Wild animals raised in captivity tend to exhibit "aggressive" behavior as they mature to other animals including humans. Sharks, killer whales, elephants, lions, tigers, chimps, etc. are no exception. Just don't treat them as domestic pets.

[naialani]

How is it humans get involved and EVERYTHING gets messed up?The seal, raised by humans should of NEVER been released in the first place, you wouldnt of had to bring it BACK if you would of kept it. NOAA u goofed in the first place. Residence of Molokai, this animal is NOT a pet. The videotaping of this animal on YOUTUBE was dangerous. It brought attention to the SEAL. Public Contact and this SEAL is NOT a GOOD idea.. relax.

[alice]

I know some men in Honolulu who need to go back into captivity

[somecommonsense]

journeygurl777 wrote:

When I saw this on the news, I couldn't believe it. There are certainly more significant issues to get "fired up" about on Molokai. High unemployment, drugs, water issues...Man,lose money flying to Honolulu to protest over a seal. Can't take them seriously at all.

Walter Ritte is the cause of all the above issues you mentioned! Beat it Ritte! Leave OUR island, we don't want your type here! Oops sorry, that sounds like something HE would say ;)

NOAA did the right thing. The seal and people would have been hurt if they didn't take action.

[Lolos]

It now won't end up being butchered or end up mauling one of your kids just because it can't see and gets frightened.
"Saying goodbye?" Was it going to wave bye-bye with it's flipper or talk?

[alice]

Molokai soudns like a nightmare

[Molokai Seal Watcher]

NOAA is in charge of protecting the seals. But on their watch, the number of seals has dropped to a point where the species may not survive. Before you jump to Big Government's defense, consider that NOAA has completely failed to achieve their mission.

Molokai people supported NOAA's mission. But they really bungled the job on KP2. An angry community won't be much help in preventing people from killing seals (like the mother seal that was killed on Kauai).

Most of the comments on this article are amazingly judgmental, mean-spirited, and short-sighted. Auwe for our planet and our human race if we let the seals disappear! NOAA, wake up!

[Freedom]

Should have let the seal just cruise around and let it be FREE and die of natural causes.

He would have been MUCH MUCH happier being FREE than be locked up for display.

Shame on them