In this episode of Voice of the Sea, we’re looking at the connections between humans, cats, monk seals - and the disease toxoplasmosis. Monk seals have lived in Hawaiʻi for over three million years, but their population has been severely depleted by human influences and habitat loss. Death from toxoplasmosis-a disease caused by a parasite spread through cat feces-has added another challenge to the recovery of the Hawaiian monk seal population.
We talk to Michelle Barbieri and Stacie Robinson from the NOAA Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, Angela Amlin, Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, and Steph Kendrick, Director of Community Engagement for the Hawaiian Humane Society-all working together to help solve the problem of free-roaming cats in Hawaiʻi.
Learn more: seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/mon...
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