Hō‘ailona’s Health & Science Updates
Since his transfer to UCSC Hō‘ailona has remained alert and inquisitive, and is doing very well. Our first goal was to increase his weight. He was skinny (for a monk seal) following his time in the wild and needed to catch up with the other seals his age. Thus, his first months have been focused on increasing the variety of fish in his diet, adding calories and training him for weekly weigh-ins.
FEBRUARY 2010 ~ The Weigh-in
Beau Richter trains Hō‘ailona for measuring his weight. The black plate the seal is resting on is a giant platform scale that we use for weighing marine mammals at the lab. The animal care staff at UCSC uses positive reinforcement training techniques with Hō‘ailona to ensure that he feels comfortable and relaxed during these routine examinations.
As you can see from the graph below Hō‘ailona is growing fast! He weighed nearly 16 kilograms (35 pounds) when he was born, and now outweighs most of us at over 70 kilograms (154 pounds). Eating lots of fatty herring has helped.
(Photo by T.M. Williams, NMFS Permit No. 932-1905)
Links to Previous Updates
© 2010 Marine Mammal Physiology Project - University of California, Santa Cruz - All Rights Reserved
All material on this page including text, images, and video links is copyrighted to T.M. Williams and authorized under National Marine Fisheries Services Permit #932-1905/MA-009526. Permission for use can be requested at williams@biology.ucsc.edu
Site created and maintained by: Beau Richter