4 malnourished Hawaiian monk seals taken to hospital

4 malnourished Hawaiian monk seals taken to hospital

Audrey Mcavoy, Associated Press

Updated 6:09 pm, Thursday, August 25, 2016



HONOLULU (AP) — Four malnourished Hawaiian monk seals have been taken from remote atolls to a Big Island hospital for the endangered animals to be fed fish and fluids to boost their weight, officials said Thursday.

The seals are likely to stay for at least a few months while they gain strength, said Dr. Shawn Johnson, chief veterinarian at the Marine Mammal Center, a California-based nonprofit which operates the hospital in Kailua-Kona.

The seals will be taken back to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands when they are healthy and officials are able to arrange a ride for them.

Two of the seals were prematurely weaned by their mothers. One is a yearling, and the fourth is an extremely underweight five-year-old. Three of the animals are females.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/4-malnourished-Hawaiian-monk-seals-taken-to-9184604.php