 Welcome to Eyes on Hawaii, on Think Tech Live streaming network series, broadcasting from our downtown studios at Pioneer Plaza at the core of downtown Honolulu. I'm your host, Carol Cox, joining me in the studios is Mrs. Zenet Mien. Today we're going to talk about Ms. Mien's role as an advocate for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Remember that our talk shows are streamed live on the internet from 11am to 5pm every weekday and earlier shows are streamed all night long. All our shows are streamed on livestream.com. If you want the links to our live streams or previous broadcasts which are available on youtube.com or if you want to subscribe to our programs or get on our mailing list and get our program advisers, go to thinktechhawaii.com. If you want to pose a question or comment during one of our shows, please tweet us at thinktechhawaii, thinktechhi. Well thank you Ms. Zenet, I'll call you for the duration of the show. Thank you for coming in and talking with us and sharing with us this role that you play as an advocate for the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal. If you could tell us a little bit about yourself and your interest in the monk seal and why do you do what you do. I mean it's hot, you're out there alone by yourself and in every nook and cranny wherever the seals are we can pretty much know where you are. Can you introduce yourself to my viewers and what have you. Hi hello Carol, thank you very much for having me here. My name is Zenet Mian, but yes a lot of people just call me by my short name Zini. I'm from Spain but I moved here six years ago and one day I saw a little Hawaiian monk seal on a beach and I just fell in love with him. And then when I found out how critically endangered they were and how exciting and incredibly amazing they were I just needed to know more. So I started as you said going to every nook and cranny and trying to find out about them, their behaviors, what they do and try to outreach people with the little that I was learning little by little and yeah that's what I've done for the past six years. Over these years that I've known you, you have done great things and made great contributions and that is for example because this is a critically endangered species and the very few of them left basically I don't know the exact number that know of the National Marine Fishery Services or know a count today or represent their area. But one of the things that what is very interesting and I want to say thank you is that you're out there the eyes and ears on the front line basically when there are monk seals that have been hooked or shot or injured. Can you tell us about that and you've contributed to some major recoveries and very serious injuries to the monk seals where you alert the public as well as the media? Share with us some of those instances. So yeah this animals face quite a few issues for their recovery one of them is hooks they get hooked you know they see something nice dangling and they bite it and then they get hooked or they get tangled in marine debris and I've seen a few of them so I found in December 2014 Benny who was he's quite famous guy and he had swallowed a hook and he had to be taken and performed surgery to save his life so basically yeah I'm very grateful that I found him and I could save his life. I found all the seals with Bicolua hooks on their mouths another one with another seal two young females that had hooks as well and you could see the line coming out to the side so yeah alerting you know informing the media and the public and then making sure that they were getting you know they required treatment and the reason you do that is one they are endangered and so their well-being is of your concern your concerns are primarily and secondly you appreciate them we know that it as well as I do and many other people but you take it one step further because it's it's sometimes you're out there alone in the early mornings you're driving away from home on wherever you live going to Turtle Bay kind of point how Ula Miley and those areas where basically you're out there on your own and tirelessly the benefit is having you there seeing this any one of these monk seals entangled with these large lines can get entangled in the rocks that with the leader that's leading and actually drown or cut them make a greater injury yes yes they do yeah so sometimes it's very critical to find them quickly like Benny he was very lucky that we saw him when we saw him because the fact that we saw him so quickly and we could alert the right people to give him treatment the following day there was a huge search patrol and they caught him and took him into to have surgery so yes sometimes if they saw a lot of hook it's you know every second counts so it's very important that there are eyes and ears out there now I hear you say Benny you name one of the many and some of the people the naysayers are might get a chuckle out of this how do you is that the official name or and there are other names are other ways that they identify these animals can you share with us how the government of the scientists distinguish the difference between each animal and what have you so yeah I mean I give them a name I feel them closer Benny's are a 74 actually so these scientists they tagged them so they put tags on their hind flippers to tax with two numbers that each animal has its own number and what are these tags look like they're on the main Hawaiian islands are red and it will be usually a letter and two numbers but it varies sometimes it's two letters on one number and then sometimes they also gave bleach so they use some like her bleach and they just bleach on their fur a number a number like what what like for example and 20 or and 19 or and four yeah so so basically this monk seal in human terms has three personalities there's Benny and then there's in 19 that's been etched by the government and then there's a tag the biologists have put in so you guys might be a little confusing for the monk seal for monk seal no I think I think most of you survive just fine but but these names they are interchangeable to some people but other people just go by the the number that's etched on them is that correct yes yes so I mean the public they all have different names I mean there are groups of surfers who usually see a particular seal and they name it you know and I have their own names and because they're wild animals that's okay I mean we're not going to shout them out and they're going to respond to us now how do you want to arrive at naming a monk seal Benny is it because he's funny yeah Jack Benny or what what why actually I didn't name Benny Benny already had his name and he has he has quite the personality okay I've named other seals I usually just look at the personality and I look for a Hawaiian matching name some other times yeah it's whatever just arrives to me and that that naming is consistent not just you I know that many people that go out and advocate for the seal will refer to them as Benny and some of the other names Kaivi honey girl or what are some of the other names and could you talk about them migrating from Kauai and other islands and what do you see the frequency of them coming here so I I just you know I put their own number their own names as I said I when I get to know them I just look for a name that would suit their personality a Hawaiian name so for example there is a little girl we're seeing on screen a green little girl I call her Akamai I just saw her one day and I thought you have to be Akamai she was just too cute seals also travel a lot they are amazing travelers and they move between the islands so sometimes they move from Kauai to Ahu Molokai to Ahu Ohahu Molokai they follow each other I guess they're just curious they're very curious animals and since they follow fish you know to eat I guess that as well triggers their movement and speaking following fish what are some of the things they eat they love eel octopus fish they would eat almost anything lobster there are some videos where you can see them kind of with their muscle moving the rocks under the water I have a beautiful picture of a seal eating an eel and she throws it up in the air and then she swallows it I think we have one of those that depicted there's a red eel yeah that's actually a little girl called Kamea and that eel was longer than her but she ate it all so that was pretty amazing to watch so with the naming and what have you there's a darker side to this or a sad side to this also they do get injured what are some of the other dangers that these animals are threatened the monk's eel is threatened with nets for example what other can you speak to the the nets and have you witnessed any situation where something like that has happened I have not witnessed them getting tangled in nets I've seen it on the news unfortunately but yeah nets they they are marine mammals they need to come up for oxygen to breathe and operate just like us so if they get tangled and they cannot reach the surface they would suffocate and die so to avoid that either avoid using nets or do not leave the nets unattended yes or leave them sitting in the water overnight because they're they do pose a threat and a danger to monk seals and other marine animals correct absolutely absolutely yes now you you've actually if I recall right you've been out there and witnessed a monk's seal giving birth and can you that must be exciting to see that because it's an endangered species yes yet you're seeing one more yeah oh very exciting yes yeah especially when you've been following the mom the whole process when you see the mom first with some boyfriends and then you see her grow and grow and grow and then one day you know you see the whole thing happening and a little black flip or going to the side it's just too exciting and you have some shared some of these pictures with us how does one get to know about you and where you are and you also contribute these animals locations and whatever to biologists and the public and deal and are and other people correct yes so but doing these visits now this is an kind of a sidebar you being out there you're going to be seeing some things that that most of us wouldn't see and thankful you're there for example there was an incident involving albatross the killing of albatross at kind of point yes did you have any kind of role directly or indirectly putting that together and alerting the authorities on that matter yes unfortunately was a day that I was hiking with a friend a couple of friends and yeah we we were following those albatrosses a couple we'd seen for two years so when we got there that morning and we saw the nest all ruffled up and the egg broken and we knew something had happened so we alerted the authorities mm-hmm and that's the current case in the news now where someone has played guilty and whatever and that's still ongoing so I really appreciate what you're doing and I hope many other people will get out that embrace you so this this effort is much needed again it's a critically endangered marine mammal and one of our the Hawaii monk seal yes absolutely the more people who are out there just be nice and ears the better for the animal and protecting them making sure they can haul out so they can sleep and that they don't block access to the ocean because they may need to return back to the ocean if they're on the sand or on the rocks let them sleep let them rest you know they need that okay well we'll be taking up some more of this conversation shortly we're taking a short break I'm Carol Cox this is eyes on Hawaii think tech live streaming network series we're talking with miss Zina at night me and about the endangered Hawaii monk seal we'll be back in a minute so stay tuned for more of this story Aloha I'm Kauai Lucas host of Hawaii is my mainland here on think tech Hawaii every Friday at 3 p.m. we address issues and importance for those of us who live here on the most isolated land mass on the planet please come join me Fridays at 3 p.m. Mahalo Aloha my name is John why hey and I used to be a part of all the things that you might be angry at I served in government here and may have made decisions that affects you so I want to invite you in I want to invite you in to talk story with me and some very special guests every other Monday here at talk story with John why hey come on in join us express your opinion learn more about your state and then do something about it Aloha we're back we're live I'm Carol Cox and this is eyes on Hawaii on think tech live streaming network series talking about endangered Hawaiian monk seal and thank you Zini we'll call you Zini man and I don't know because I go out there I don't think people can really appreciate it because just a height to kind of point and you're walking in and not only are you walking in a couple of miles you're there in the sun all day or you're in the rain or the wind and you're carrying a bundle of cameras and what drives you I mean is this something a love of the animal is it the the fact that it's an endangered species or you are all of that combined and you're just concerned and you want to be the take to the paternalistic row you want them are you the anti of the monk seal you know it's a bit of everything so the animal is so the Hawaiian monk seal is so amazing that it just hooked me so there's always that drive of let's see what they're doing today and you know let's see what happens but also the worry of let me make sure I go out there and that they're safe and that they're not injured or hooked or anything so it's a combination of everything now let's talk about the monk seal there's this great debate and misinformation as I know it to be and historically it's been a problem what we want people to respect the animal we don't want them to disturb them we don't want them to harass we don't want them to modify their habitat or if they're resting let them be because they are critically endangered and even if they weren't they're a wild animal but there's some information that sometimes is misunderstood or miscommunicated what about this there's supposedly a law that says you can only go within a certain number of feet yeah is that true unfortunately there is no law that limits a human from being at any given distance there are guidelines though and who sets those guys yes so the guidelines were set out by the government and they can be viewed on their website you know it's if you type it in on Google you can read it which government agency no no yes so Noah's website you can read a full set of guidelines and advising you how to view the animal and they're very comprehensive and and so there are some say 50 feet but sometimes in a certain cove the the surfers have to walk past that to get to the water to go surfing and and many occasions they don't interfere with the animal but sometimes if there's a mother in her calf or cub or whatever yeah pup that might be construed as a disturbance so if you see that your actions or your presence is creating a problem of disturbance what should people do I think you should always be wary so a mom and a pup or don't get close to them at all because the mom will chase you and bite you and I and I have a lot of footage of a mom chasing a surfer on the on the rocks the sleeping seals if you're in a tiny cove you know just give them as much as for wider birth again never block their access to the ocean so try and walk behind them instead of between the seal and the ocean walk behind them and don't make any noises you know just be quiet and just go mind your own business and and with these animals as they're laying there they're very solitude and solitary at least and sometimes as you showed me about two weeks ago there were six in one cold now I've not witnessed that in my entire history of living here in Hawaii yeah even on the outer islands in the northwest Hawaiian islands I've never seen that number congregate together and they weren't fighting or wrestling or struggling or struggling with one another there were juveniles and they were young young pup less than a year old amongst them is that a common site unfortunately it's not a common site because you know we only have here about on the island of Oahu about 25 seals so unfortunately it's not common but my experience in my experience of witness that young males do look for each other so they look for each other and they play so that group of seals were kind of looking for each other and when they find each other they like to lay down next to each other and sometimes they do not tolerate each other too good and they'll bark yeah and as we witnessed one day off of Sandy Beach area in that Macapoo there was a fight there exactly very violent and and I'd seen some skirmishes but not one like that and they were at it and I don't know was there a female in estrus or in heat or that there was jousting over it wasn't just territory you know them better than I do that was Buster that he's very common to Sandi's and an old guy very old guy and Buster was being territorial so I think he was just scouting the coastline and trying to keep it for him and when he saw that other male he was not happy and they're persistent to they don't give you gosh you think well okay they in human terms okay if a person walks away from the fight the generally the general understanding is the fights over yeah not amongst monk seal it's not over until you clear the area you you have to leave no matter what the water is how rough it is if there's 10 sharks out there I they're very interesting animals yes and they're very competitive but I guess when you look at that that's why they're still clinging on because they need to be competitive in this day and age of the competition with people fishing and spearfishing and what have you and people are killing them but one thing I don't want to miss out on is if you could speak to there's another thing that poses a greater risk to the monk seal and that is people and their dogs can you speak to that and and I mean even if you would like to scold them no but we're a little nice nice today but but but again can you speak to that because I many occasions see pit bulls blue shawls and they just let their dogs run up to the monk seal and they can bite the monk seal so speak it if you would yeah I mean I think everybody should try to keep their dogs on the leash I mean I understand you go to a beach you want to have your dog free and everything but the seals are there and sometimes they just look like a rock and you don't see them so if your dog is loose one's going to smell the other the dog is an animal too and that's going to trigger its senses is going to run towards the seal the seal is going to defend itself and recently there was an instance with that in Makulaiya between a dog a seal and her pup and this seal just went after the dog obviously and the dog could have injured the pup and killed it thank god nothing happened but that was just luck and dogs do bite seal they do and have any of those seals died from the bite or infections or what have you I believe they have been there was a death in kawaii on the island of kawaii and yeah they can transmit to each other diseases the seal can transmit the dog and the dog to the seal so it's a two way that can happen well one of the things that we must do all of us is adopt a stance that these animals belong here they were here when we arrived here and they're part of our makeup our heritage the Hawaiian monk seal now we don't know the exact number because I the numbers change different depending on the source that but we do know that they're they brought some here to the main Hawaiian islands and how are they doing on the big island the seals I'm not very aware of the population of the big island I understand that the island with the least number of seals but then I'm not very aware of those now always someone wishes to feed the animal you can't we cannot let this escape us yes should should anybody be throwing fish or any kind of food to monk's heels no they should not why not I mean it's just you know it's helping a little critter along or what why should they not well you don't help it because the critter has to be wild and wild means the critter has to go out there and get its own food so as when you start feeding these seals then they get used to that and they'll become lazy they're like no no I'll wait for somebody to feed me and they'll lose that sense of wildness they have to be able to go out there and hunt their own food so please do not feed them and and monk seals haul out we'll call it the term hauling out and they may be at this hour upon this speech but that's dictated by the current and the waves as the tide increases or decreases so if you see a monk seal at the edge of the water don't go and camp out right ten feet ahead of him up slope because he may have just come ashore or she may have come just come ashore and and eyeing the upper area because the tide is rising yes and the waves are so they want to be removed out of the water and so what will happen they'll come as you plop down with your picnic blanket and your family there so people should exercise caution and not establish a campsite or a picnic area yes yes I agree I think when you see a seal you should give you should give the seal about 50 feet because you don't know exactly as you said if it's going to go further up if it's going to get hot and go down if it's going to roll over you know seal has its own agenda so so what what we'll do is suggest to the viewers out there and listeners is that if you see something going wrong with the monk seal call the National Marine Fishery Service report that to them or if you can't get a response there sometimes they're overwhelmed or not available a call the Department of Land and Natural Resources or call the police department believe it or not the police department is one of our better natural resource protectors they're there and they care I I I've never had a police officer a little police officer or a sheriff to say no they are there so don't hesitate to call you agree I completely completely I've been very successful here with police officers yeah so the couple things and if you see them respect them they can bite but we're not worried about so much that they can bite it's what we do to disturb them and cause the to alter their behavior expose them to a greater risk or what have you and they're resting during the daytime basically and feeding at night yes so every minute of sleep that they lose could be detrimental or taxing in their well-being yes absolutely so when a seal you see a seal coming ashore just let it come out and rest because they've they've been hunting all night so they're very tired and if they don't get the rest and they have to return to the ocean they you know they can fall prey to a predator much easier than if they're fully rested thank you Zini thank you Carol me on I appreciate you and helping and watching out for the seals and we'll have you back again thank you very much thank you and please whatever you do when it comes to monk seals or any of the wildlife respect them and give them their place in the space okay we're out of time and we'll have to wrap it up I'm Carol Cox this is Eyes on Hawaii on think tech live streaming live network series we've been talking with Mrs. Ian me and me and seen it me and about the endangered Hawaii monk seal thanks to you Mrs. Ian and thanks to our broadcast engineer Zuri Bender our floor manager Robert McLean and to Jay Fidel our executive producer who puts it all together and thanks to you our viewers and listeners if you want to get your our email and your social media program advisories click the link on think tech Hawaii calm if you like to be a guest on the writer or volunteer or if you want to join us in our downtown studio in Pioneer Plaza contact Jay at think tech Hawaii calm if you want the links to our live streams or our previous broadcasts on use you stream TV calm you YouTube calm just go to think tech Hawaii calm go there and go there and to our Facebook page to tell them you like us we love you to like us and of course I'll see you next Tuesday at 12 noon for more on Eyes on Hawaii on think tech I'm Carol Cox Aloha everyone