Monk Seal Emergency Room

Aloha!

I have been back in Indiana for over a month now and needless to say, I miss Hawaii and Coconut Island so much!  Being back at Purdue is fun though and I am enjoying my senior year.  I recently read an article about a new Hawaiian Monk Seal Emergency Room and wanted to share it with everyone!

The emergency room will be built on the Big Island in Kona and will be able to hold up to ten monk seals at a time.  Currently all monk seals needing medical attention are taken to the Waikiki Aquarium, which has limited space.  It will be located on the grounds of the National Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, right next to the Kailua-Kona airport.  This location will make it easy for injured seals to be flown in from anywhere in the Hawaiian archipelago, also, the NELHA has a steady supply of clean seawater pumped from the ocean to provide the seals with a hygienic environment.

The entire project is being headed by the non-profit Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California.  There will be medical and research facilities and an area for visitors.  They hope to break ground next year and be operational by the end of 2012.

I hope ya'll found this as exciting as I did! Click here if you would like to know more.

Sarah