Catherine Cruz/Hawaii Public Radio
Wildlife officials want people and their dogs on a Waikiki beach to give an endangered newborn seal and its nursing mother lots of space.
Kaiwi, a Hawaiian monk seal mom and her pup, PO2, are nursing and bonding at Kaimana Beach, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Wednesday.
State and federal officials want people to go to another beach for swimming and paddling for the next several weeks.
“Like all mothers, monk seals are very protective of their pups,” David Schofield, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine mammal coordinator, said in a release. “While they are resting on the beach, they look docile, but once they go into the water they can move very, very fast, like lightning speed. If a mother seal detects any threat to her pup, she is likely to attack and that is a major concern for us.”
Project to replenish sand at Waikiki Beach to be completed in May Waikiki Beach Sand Replenishment Project is in its final stage. (Source: Department of Land and Natural Resources) By HNN Staff | April 22, 2021 at 9:08 PM HST - Updated April 22 at 9:08 PM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - After months of pumping sand from off shore, the state said the Waikiki Beach replenishment project is in its final stage.
Since the start of the project on Jan. 26, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has retrieved approximately 20,000 cubic yards of sand from a large sand field in shallow waters about 1,000-feet offshore.
Hawaii study offers design changes to fight climate change
April 5, 2021
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HONOLULU (AP) A new study from the University of Hawaii s School of Architecture has offered detailed short- and long-term design alterations that could help the state combat the effects of climate change.
Scientists have warned that Hawaii could face a rise of up to 3 feet (0.91 meters) in sea level over the next few decades, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.
The effects of climate change in Honolulu in particular could force as many as 13,300 people from their homes and cause an estimated $13 billion in economic losses, the outlet reported.
“When you read sea-level rise reports, it’s scary,” said Judith Stilgenbauer, the principal investigator of the project and professor of landscape architecture at the university s School of Architecture. “But there’s a real opportunity here to get an early start on planning for the inevitable.”