TheMediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is amonk seal belonging to the familyPhocidae. As of 2015[update], it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in theAegean Sea, the archipelago ofMadeira and theCabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.[3] It is believed to be the world's rarestpinniped species.[1] It is the only extant species in the genusMonachus.
This species ofseal grows from approximately 80 centimetres (2.6 ft) long at birth up to an average of 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) as adults, females slightly shorter than males.[4] Males weigh an average of 320 kilograms (710 lb) and females weigh 300 kilograms (660 lb), with overall weight ranging from 240–400 kilograms (530–880 lb).[1][5][6][7] They are thought to live up to 45 years old;[5] the average life span is thought to be 20 to 25 years old and reproductive maturity is reached at around age four.
The monk seals' pups are about 1 metre (3.3 ft) long and weigh around 15–18 kilograms (33–40 lb), their skin being covered by 1–1.5 centimeter-long, dark brown to black hair. On their bellies, there is a white stripe, which differs in color and shape between the two sexes. In females the stripe is usually rectangular in shape whereas in males it is usually butterfly shaped.[8] This hair is replaced after six to eight weeks by the usual short hair adults carry.[5] Adults will continue to molt annually, causing their color vibrancy to change throughout the year.[9]
Pregnant Mediterranean monk seals typically use inaccessible undersea caves while giving birth, though historical descriptions show they used open beaches until the 18th century. There are eight pairs of teeth in both jaws.
Believed to have the shortest hair of any pinniped, the Mediterranean monk seal fur is black (males) or brown to dark grey (females), with a paler belly, which is close to white in males. The snout is short broad and flat, with very pronounced, long nostrils that face upward, unlike theirHawaiian relative, which tend to have more forward nostrils. The flippers are relatively short, with small slender claws. Monk seals have two pairs of retractable abdominal teats, unlike most other pinnipeds.
Very little is known of this seal's reproduction. As of 2020, it is thought that there are roughly 500 pairs of monk seals remaining in the world.[10] Scientists have suggested that they arepolygynous, with males being very territorial where they mate with females. Although there is no breeding season since births take place year-round, there is a peak in September, October, and November. Although mating will take place in the water, females will give birth and care for the pups on beaches or underwater caves. The use of underwater caves may have begun in order to make predatory actions almost impossible as these caves are difficult to access. Because they will stay with the pups to nurse and protect, they use their stored fat reserves to nurse.[4] Data analysis indicates that only 29% of pups born between September and January survive. One cause of this low survival rate is the timing of high surf around the areas of breeding, creating a threat to young pups. As well, if a female determines that her environment is not a safe one, she can initiate an abortion, indirectly lowering the population.[10] Because of smaller populations there is an increase in genetic events such as inbreeding and lack of genetic variation. During other months of the year, pups have an estimated survival rate of 71%.[1]
In 2008, lactation was reported in an open beach, the first such record since 1945, which could suggest the seal could begin feeling increasingly safe to return to open beaches for breeding purposes in Cabo Blanco.[11]
Pups make first contact with the water two weeks after their birth and are weaned at around 18 weeks of age; females caring for pups will go off to feed for an average of nine hours.[1] Most female individuals are believed to reach maturity at four years of age unto which they will begin to breed.[4] Males begin to breed at age six.[9] The gestation period lasts close to a year. However, it is believed to be common among monk seals of the Cabo Blanco colony to have a gestation period lasting slightly longer than a year.[12]
Mediterranean monk seals arediurnal and feed on a variety offish andmollusks, primarilyoctopus,squid, andeels, up to 3 kg per day. Although they commonly feed in shallow coastal waters, they are also known to forage at depths up to 250 meters, with an average depth varying between specimens.[1] Monk seals prefer hunting in wide-open spaces, enabling them to use their speed more effectively. They are successful bottom-feeding hunters; some have even been observed lifting slabs of rock in search of prey.
The habitat of this pinniped has changed over the years. In ancient times, and up until the 20th century, Mediterranean monk seals had been known to congregate, give birth, and seek refuge on open beaches. In more recent times, they have left their former habitat and now only use sea caves for these activities. Often these caves are inaccessible to humans. Frequently their caves have underwater entries, and many caves are positioned along remote or rugged coastlines.[13][14][15][16]
Scientists have confirmed this is a recent adaptation, most likely due to the rapid increase in human population, tourism, and industry, which have caused increased disturbance by humans and the destruction of the species' natural habitat. Because of these seals' shy nature and sensitivity to human disturbance, they have slowly adapted to try to avoid contact with humans completely within the last century, and, perhaps, even earlier. The coastal caves are, however, dangerous for newborns, and are causes of major mortality among pups when sea storms hit the caves.[13][17][18][19]
Several causes provoked a dramatic population decrease over time: on one hand, commercial hunting (especially during the Roman Empire and Middle Ages) and, during the 20th century, eradication by fishermen, who used to consider it a pest due to the damage the seal causes to fishing nets when it preys on fish caught in them; and, on the other hand, coastal urbanization and pollution.[1]
Nowadays, its entire population is estimated to be less than 700 individuals widely scattered, which qualifies this species as endangered. Its current very sparse population is one more serious threat to the species, as it only has two key sites that can be deemed viable. One is theAegean Sea (250–300 animals in Greece, with the largest concentration of animals inGyaros island,[3] and some 100 in Turkey); the other important subpopulation is in the Atlantic Ocean, in theWestern Saharan portion ofCabo Blanco (around 270 individuals which may support the small, but growing, nucleus in theDesertas Islands – approximately 30–40 individuals[22]). There may be some individuals using coastal areas among other parts of Western Sahara, such as inCintra Bay.[23]
These two key sites are virtually in the extreme opposites of the species' distribution range, which makes natural population interchange between them impossible. All the other remaining subpopulations are composed of less than 50 mature individuals, many of them being only loose groups of extremely reduced size – often less than five individuals.[1]
Other remaining populations are insouthwestern Turkey and theIonian Sea (both in the eastern Mediterranean). The species status is virtually moribund in the western Mediterranean, which still holds tinyMoroccan andAlgerian populations, associated with rare sightings of vagrants in theBalearic Islands,[24]Sardinia, and other western Mediterranean locations, including Gibraltar.
InSardinia the Mediterranean monk seal was last sighted in May 2007 and April 2010. The increase of sightings in Sardinia suggests that the seal occasionally inhabits the Central Eastern Sardinian coasts, preserved since 1998 by theNational Park of Golfo of Orosei.[25][26][27]
Cabo Blanco, in the Atlantic Ocean, is the largest surviving single population of the species, and the only remaining site that still seems to preserve a colony structure.[1] In the summer of 1997, more than 200 animals[1] or two-thirds of its seal population were wiped out within two months, compromising the species'viable population. While opinions on the precise causes of this epidemic remain divided between amorbillivirus or, more likely, atoxic algae bloom,[1] the mass die-off emphasized the precarious status of a species already regarded as critically endangered throughout its range.
Numbers in this all-important location started a slow-paced recovery ever since. A small but incipient (up to 20 animals by 2009) sub-population in the area had started using open beaches. In 2009, for the first time in centuries, a female delivered her pup on the beach (open beaches are the optimal habitat for the survival of pups, but had been abandoned due to human disturbance and persecution in past centuries).[29]
Only by 2016 the colony had recovered to its previous population (about 300 animals). This was made possible by a recovery plan financed by Spain.[22] Also in 2016, a new record of births was set for the colony (83 pups).[22]
However, the threat of a similar incident, which could severely reduce or wipe out the entire population, remains.[30]
OnCoaling Island in September 2012, possibly the first record in theStrait of GibraltarOn rocky shore atSerifos, GreeceGroup atLefkada, GreeceYulia, aka Tugra, female Mediterranean monk seal sleeping in Israel
In June 2009, there was a report of a sighting off the island ofGiglio, in Italy.[31] On 7 January 2010, fishermen spotted an injured Mediterranean monk seal off the coasts ofTel Aviv, Israel. When zoo veterinarians arrived to help the seal, it had slipped back into the waters. Members of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center arrived at the scene and tried to locate the injured mammal, but with no success. This was the first sighting of the species in the region since Lebanese authorities claimed to have found a population of 10–20 other seals on their coasts 70 years earlier.[32] In addition, the seal was also sighted a couple of weeks later in the northern kibbutz ofRosh Hanikra.[33]
In April 2010, there was a report of a sighting off the island ofMarettimo, in theEgadi Islands off the coast ofItaly, inTrapani Province.[34] In November 2010, a Mediterranean monk seal, supposedly aged between 10 and 20, had been spotted inBodrum, Turkey.[35] On 31 December 2010, the BBC Earth news[36] reported that the MOM Hellenic Society[37] had located a new colony of seals on a remote beach in the Aegean Sea. The exact location was not communicated so as to keep the site protected. The society was appealing to the Greek government to integrate the part of the island on which the seals live into amarine protected area.
On 8 March 2011, the BBC Earth news[38] reported that a pup seal had been spotted on 7 February while monitoring a seal colony on an island in the southwestern Aegean Sea. Soon after, it showed signs of weakness and it was taken to a rehabilitation centre to try to save it. The aim is to release it back into the wild as soon as it is strong enough. In April 2011, a monk seal was spotted near theEgyptian coast after long absence of the species from the nation.[39]
On 24 June 2011, the Blue World Institute of Croatia[40] filmed an adult female underwater in the northern Adriatic, off the island ofCres and a specimen of unverified sex on 29 June 2012.[41] On 2 May 2013 a specimen was seen on the southernmost point ofIstrian peninsula near the town ofPula.[42] On 9 September 2013, inPula a male specimen swam to a busy beach and entertained numerous tourists for five minutes before swimming back to the open sea.[43] In summer 2014 sightings in Pula have occurred almost daily and monk seal stayed multiple times on crowded city beaches, sleeping calm for hours just few meters away from humans.[44][45] To prevent accidents and preserve monk seal, local city council acquired special educational boards and installed on city beaches.[46] Despite clear instructions, an incident occurred with a tourist harassing a seal. The whole event was filmed.[47] Less than a month later on 25 August 2014 this female monk seal was found dead in the Mrtvi Puć bay nearŠišan, Croatia. Experts said it was natural death caused by her old age.[48]
The monk seal on Mornar Beach, in Pula, Croatia
A few days before she died in the Mrtvi Puć Bay near Šišan, Croatia
In 2012, a Mediterranean monk seal, was spotted in Gibraltar on the jetty of the private boat owners club atCoaling Island.[49]
In the week of 22–28 April 2013, what is believed to have been a monk seal was viewed in Tyre, southern Lebanon; photographs have been reported among many local media.[50] A study by the Italian Ministry of the Environment in 2013 confirmed the presence of monk seals in marine protected area in theEgadi Islands.[51] In September and October 2013, there were a number of sightings of an adult pair in waters aroundRAF Akrotiri in British Sovereign Base waters in Cyprus.
In November 2014, an adult monk seal was reportedly seen inside the port ofLimassol, Cyprus. A female monk seal, called Argyro by the locals, was repeatedly seen on beaches ofSamos island in 2014 and 2015,[52] and two were reported in April 2016.[53] In 2017, Argyro was shot and killed.[54]
On 7 April 2015, a large floating "fish" was reported near Raouche,Beirut inLebanon, and collected by a local fisherman. This turned out to be the body of a female monk seal known to have been resident there for some time. Further investigations revealed that she was pregnant with a pup.[55]
On 6 January 2016, a monk seal climbed aboard a parked boat inKuşadası.[57]
On 10 April 2016, a monk seal was spotted and photographed by a group of foreign exchange students and local bio-engineers in a creek inManavgat District inTurkey's southernAntalya Province. According to the scientists involved in local projects to protect the animals, this was the first ever documented sighting of a monk seal swimming in a river. Possible reasons for the animal's appearance included better opportunities for hunting, as well as higher salinity levels due to lower water levels.[58]
On 26 April 2016, two monk seals were spotted at the municipal baths area ofPaphos, Cyprus.[53]
On 18 October 2016, a monk seal was captured on video aroundGulf of Kuşadası.[59]
On 3 November 2016, a monk seal was spotted at the coast ofGialousa inCyprus.[60]
On 13 June 2017, a specimen was spotted and photographed by a group of fishermen off the coasts ofTricase in the south of Italy.[61]
In November 2018, a young monk seal was spotted at the coast ofKaravostasi inCyprus, only to be found dead at the same area a few days later.[63]
On 15 March 2019, a monk seal was spotted and photographed by a group of citizens at a marina inKuşadası.[64]
On 20 July 2019, a monk seal was spotted in Protaras bay area inCyprus.[65]
On 27 January 2020, a young monk seal was recovered dead from Torre San Gennaro in Apulia.[66]
On 15 December 2020, a monk seal was spotted and videotaped while seated on asunlounger in Samos Island, Greece.[67]
On 24 July 2021, a previously rescued and rehabilitated monk seal nicknamed "Kostis" was found dead in the waters of the Cycladic islands. MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal reported that the seal had been executed at close range with a spear gun. Additionally, MOm pledged a €18,000 bounty for any evidence that "will lead to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the killing of the seal, known as Kostis."[68]
On 24 April 2023, a large monk seal was spotted at Korakonisi, Zakynthos in Greece. It stayed on the surface for around a minute observing onlookers and then dived and was not seen again on that day.[69]
On 12 May 2023, a healthy adult female monk seal was observed and photographed resting for at least a few hours on the beach in Jaffa near Tel Aviv, Israel.[70] Israel's Nature and Park Authority has been monitoring since then this seal dubbed "Yulia", estimated at twenty years of age, spotted by eastern Mediterranean researchers in recent years in Turkey and Lebanon, where she is known as "Tugra". International consultation assessed that she is in normalmolt to shed her winter coat, mostly relaxing on the section of beach that has been fenced off for her, and occasionally going into the water.[71][72][73]
On 5 July 2024, a monk seal was spotted in Malta after an absence of 30 years.[74]
Damage inflicted on fishermen's nets and rare attacks on offshore fish farms inTurkey andGreece are known to have pushed local people towards hunting the Mediterranean monk seal, but mostly out of revenge, rather than population control. Preservation efforts have been put forth by civil organizations, foundations, and universities in both countries since as early as the 1970s. For the past 10 years,[75][76] many groups have carried out missions to educate locals on damage control and species preservation. Reports of positive results of such efforts exist throughout the area.[77]
In theAegean Sea, Greece has allocated a large area for the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal and its habitat. The GreekAlonissos Marine Park, that extends around the NorthernSporades islands, is the main action ground of the Greek MOm organisation.[78] MOm is greatly involved in raising awareness in the general public, fundraising for the helping of the monk seal preservation cause, in Greece and wherever needed. Greece is currently investigating the possibility of declaring another monk seal breeding site as a national park and also has integrated some sites in the NATURA 2000 protection scheme. The legislation in Greece is very strict towards seal hunting, and in general, the public is very much aware and supportive of the effort for the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal.[79][80]
The complex politics concerning the covert opposition of the Greek government towards the protection to the monk seals in the eastern Aegean in the late 1970s is described in a book by William Johnson.[81] Oil companies apparently may have been using the monk seal sanctuary project as astalking horse to encourage greater cooperation between the Greek and Turkish governments as a preliminary to pushing for oil extraction rights in a geopolitically unstable area. According to Johnson, the Greek secret service, the YPEA, were against such moves and sabotaged the project to the detriment of both the seals and conservationists, who, unaware of such covert motivations, sought only to protect the species and its habitat.[81]
One of the largest groups among the foundations concentrating their efforts towards the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal is the Mediterranean Seal Research Group (Turkish:Akdeniz Foklarını Araştırma Grubu) operating under the Underwater Research Foundation (Turkish:Sualtı Araştırmaları Derneği) inTurkey (also known as SAD-AFAG). The group has taken initiative in joint preservation efforts together with theFoça municipal officials, as well as phone, fax, and email hotlines for sightings.[82]
Preservation of the species requires both the preservation of land and sea, due to the need for terrestrialhaul-out sites and caves or caverns for the animal to rest and reproduce. Even though responsiblescuba diving instructors hesitate to make trips to known seal caves, the rumor of a seal sighting quickly becomes a tourist attraction for many. Irresponsible scuba diving trips scare the seals away from caves which could become habitation for the species.[83][84]
The Environment and Urbanization Minister of Turkey announced on 18 November 2019 that a plan was proposed to further preserve the species to allow the sub species of Foça, Gökova, Datça and Bozburun to increase in numbers.[85]
As there are indications of small population increases in the subpopulations, as of 2015, the Mediterranean monk seal'sIUCN conservation status has been updated fromendangered tovulnerable in keeping with the IUCN's speed-of-decline criteria.[1]
The Mediterranean monk seal occasionally appears inClassical mythology. InHomer'sThe Odyssey, the sea godProteus is shownherding monk seals forPoseidon. The mythical heroPhocus of Aegina (withphokos literally translating to seal in Greek) was the son of thenereidPsamathe, and was conceived while she was transformed into a seal. The ancient city ofPhocis (and possiblyPhocaea) was named after Phocus, and the city of Phocaea took on the monk seal as an emblem. This has been thought to either be due to the myth of Phocus' birth, or monk seals formerly inhabiting the area where Phocaea was established. There is only a single known surviving depiction of the monk seal from antiquity, this being on aCaeretan hydria likely created by Phocaean refugees inEtruria.[86]
Despite its mythological connections and association with certain peoples, the monk seal still seems to have generally been reviled and feared by the ancient Greeks and Romans due to its form and smell, as well as its association with the unknown nature of the ocean. Many Greek and Roman metaphors and idioms portrayed the seal in a negative light. This antipathy may have contributed to its long-term decline in numbers by spurring persecution of the species.[86]
On the other hand, a 2000-year-old grave with a skeleton of a Mediterranean monk seal was found during archaeological excavations in the port ofRhodes inGreece; and the seal was buried with a ritual that was used for humanburials. The skeleton is now exhibited in theAquarium of Rhodes.[87]
In the11th century BC, theAssyrian kingTiglath-Pileser I was gifted several animals by the Egyptian pharaohRamesses XI, including acrocodile and an unknown creature known as the "river-man". These animals were displayed in the menagerie of his sonAshur-bel-kala, and are portrayed on several of Ashur's obelisk fragments. A pair of hind flippers on one partial fragment has been identified with the "river-man", and if so indicate that the "river man" was almost certainly a monk seal.[88]
^Grinevetskiii, S. R.; Zonn, I. S.; Zhilʹtsov, S. S.; Kosarev, A. N.; Kostianoĭ, A. G. (2015).The Black Sea encyclopedia. Berlin. p. 532.ISBN978-3-642-55227-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^About Sophia Söderholm (13 August 2015)."Monk seals spotted off Limassol". Newcyprusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved5 September 2022.
^Johnson, W.; Lavigne, D. (1999). "MASS TOURISM and the MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL The role of mass tourism in the decline and possible future extinction of Europe's most endangered marine mammal, Monachus monachus".The Monachus Guardian.S2CID131045844.
^abJohnson, William M. (1999).Monk seals in antiquity: the Mediterranean monk seal (monachus monachus) in ancient history and literature. Backhuys Publishers.OCLC861030988.
^Matea Mihaljević Jurković (2021)."Mediteranske igre u Splitu 1979. godine" [The 1979 Mediterranean games in Split].Pleter (in Croatian).2:191–211. Retrieved9 October 2024.
Randall R. Reeves; Brent S. Stewart; Phillip J. Clapham; James A. Powell (2002).National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.ISBN0-375-41141-0.
.jpg)
