On 22 July 1999, a female Hawaiian monk seal was seen hauled out on the east shore of Johnston Island. Her numbered flipper tags told us that she was born at French Frigate Shoals (FFS) in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) in 1988. She was seen there in each subsequent year and she pupped three times (1996-1998) and possibly in 1999 as well, but none of her pups survived. As far as we know, this is the first documented case of a seal voluntarily moving to JA from the NWHI.
She was very emaciated when she arrived on JI, possibly because she had recently pupped (female monk seals do not feed while nursing), but she soon began putting on weight as she fed in and around the lagoon at Johnston Atoll. She was seen by island residents several times each month for the next year hauled out on Johnston, Sand, and East islands and swimming in the lagoon waters. The last sighting of her here at JA was in September 2000. Where did she go? We do not know, but we hope she is back at French Frigate Shoals enjoying the company of other Hawaiian monk seals. FFS is one of the main pupping grounds for this highly endangered species.