The Odyssey of KP2: An Orphan Seal, a Marine Biologist, and the Fight to Save a Species

In this sensitive, enjoyable book, Williams, a wildlife biologist and director of the Marine Mammal Physiology Program at UC–Santa Cruz, shares her personal journey with Kauai Pup 2 (KP2), a friendly Hawaiian monk seal abandoned at birth by his mother. Human intervention helps restore him, but consequently produces an animal that is neither wild nor tame. As Williams writes, “his months in rehabilitation with humans and release among seals had shaped him into a creature that had no home.” Unable to adapt to living in the wild and deemed “expendable” in terms of the “reproductive viability” of this endangered species, KP2 is flown to Williams’s marine mammal lab in Santa Cruz, Calif., for research purposes. There, Williams and her team face numerous difficulties, including securing safe transport for KP2, finding funding to support him in his necessary environment, fielding the tirades of the press, and trying to figure out the safest way to return him to Hawaii. Williams carefully blends scientific record-keeping with engaging storytelling and personal reflections. Agent: Noah Lukeman, Lukeman Literary Management. (July)