Kilo's Story
Our first patient rescued from the Main Hawaiian Islands, Kilo was found orphaned and starving on the privately-owned island of Ni'ihau, southwest of Kauai. An endangered species, few Hawaiian monk seal pups survive their first year due to threats like entanglement in ocean trash, declining fisheries, climate change and predation.
Kilo was brought to Ke Kai Ola, the Center's Hawaiian monk seal hospital, where our veterinarians found that she weighed just 37 pounds--close to birth weight for a Hawaiian monk seal. She was initially fed fish-mash smoothies until she was able to transition to eating whole fish. After seven months of care, Kilo gained more than 100 pounds and was released near where she was originally rescued on Ni'ihau.