excerpted for brevity:
"NOAA Fisheries dispatched a team of recovery experts to follow up on reports of an abandoned monk seal pup in a remote area on Kaua'i.
The recovery team determined that the pup, if left alone, would have no chance of survival and made arrangements to transport it to O'ahu for captive care rehabilitation.
Although an extreme intervention, NOAA Fisheries considers the life of each and every monk seal precious as the population continues to decline at about 4 percent per year. It is estimated that less than 1200 Hawaiian monk seals remain."
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