Researchers at ucsc’s long marine laboratory said goodbye to a monk seal on tuesday. Scientists had been studying the now-3-year-old seal since it was rescued in Hawaii, in 2008. named “ho-ai-lona,” the male monk seal had been abandoned by its mother, on a beach on the island of kauai. Researchers were studying the seal to further understand how it converts its food into energy. The U.S. Coast Guard was tapped to fly the seal back to the islands, where it is expected to remain at an aquarium.
