Mediterranean monk seal
The Mediterranean monk seal is more than just a beautiful marine mammal; it's a living echo from ancient times, once thriving across a vast expanse of ocean. Today, this elusive pinniped faces an uphill battle for survival, its dwindling numbers a stark reminder of humanity's profound impact on the natural world—a battle that continues to unfold in remote sea caves and along forgotten coastlines. Let's dive into the fascinating world of a creature whose story is one of resilience and a desperate hope for the future. Human pressures have forced Mediterranean monk seals to abandon their traditional open beaches for the precarious safety of secluded, often dangerous, sea caves for birthing and resting. Despite their critically endangered status and fragmented populations, dedicated conservation efforts are beginning to show encouraging signs of recovery in key strongholds. These seals hold a surprisingly deep connection to ancient Mediterranean cultures, featuring prominently in mythology and even ancient royal menageries, yet were often reviled.
AI Summary
The Mediterranean monk seal is more than just a beautiful marine mammal; it's a living echo from ancient times, once thriving across a vast expanse of ocean. Today, this elusive pinniped faces an uphill battle for survival, its dwindling numbers a stark reminder of humanity's profound impact on the natural world—a battle that continues to unfold in remote sea caves and along forgotten coastlines. Let's dive into the fascinating world of a creature whose story is one of resilience and a desperate hope for the future.
- Human pressures have forced Mediterranean monk seals to abandon their traditional open beaches for the precarious safety of secluded, often dangerous, sea caves for birthing and resting.
- Despite their critically endangered status and fragmented populations, dedicated conservation efforts are beginning to show encouraging signs of recovery in key strongholds.
- These seals hold a surprisingly deep connection to ancient Mediterranean cultures, featuring prominently in mythology and even ancient royal menageries, yet were often reviled.
Meet the Elusive Monk Seal
Imagine a sleek, powerful swimmer, up to 2.4 meters (nearly 8 feet) long and weighing as much as a small car, gliding through the clear waters of the Mediterranean. This is the Mediterranean monk seal, a truly magnificent pinniped. They are born about 80 centimeters long, quickly growing into adults that can live for 20 to 25 years, though some are thought to reach an impressive 45 years.
Distinctive Features
These seals boast perhaps the shortest hair of any pinniped. Males sport dark, almost black fur with a stark white belly, while females are typically brown to dark grey with a paler underside. Their short, broad snout features pronounced, upward-facing nostrils—a unique trait that sets them apart from their Hawaiian monk seal cousins, whose nostrils point forward.
Newborn pups are a sight to behold, covered in a dense, dark brown to black coat up to 1.5 centimeters long. Their most charming feature might be the distinct white stripe on their bellies, which varies in shape between the sexes—rectangular for females, butterfly-shaped for males. This special coat is shed after six to eight weeks, replaced by the adult's shorter fur.
A Hidden Life: Reproduction and Habitat Shift
For centuries, Mediterranean monk seals birthed their pups on open, sandy beaches. But the world changed, and with it, their habits. Due to mounting human disturbance—from tourism to industry—these shy creatures gradually retreated to secluded sea caves, often with underwater entrances, for breeding and refuge. This profound shift is a relatively recent adaptation, largely occurring within the last century.
This retreat into caves, while offering protection from humans, comes with its own risks. Newborn pups are especially vulnerable to the powerful forces of sea storms that can surge into these coastal caverns, contributing significantly to their mortality rate. Females will stay with their pups, nursing them on stored fat reserves, which is a demanding commitment.
Reproduction is a quiet, mysterious affair for these seals. While births can occur year-round, there's a peak in autumn, particularly from September to November. Scientists believe they are polygynous, meaning one male mates with multiple females, with males often defending mating territories. Mating happens in the water, but birthing and the critical first weeks of a pup's life unfold on land within these hidden caves.
Survival rates for pups are tragically low during the peak birthing season—only about 29% born between September and January make it. This is largely due to the timing of rough seas coinciding with vulnerable newborns. In other months, survival jumps to a much healthier 71%. Intriguingly, a female can even initiate an abortion if she perceives her environment as unsafe, a stark indicator of their sensitivity to disturbance.
A Species on the Brink: Distribution and Status
Once widespread across the entire Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the North Atlantic coastline from Portugal to West Africa, the Mediterranean monk seal's range has dramatically shrunk. Today, it is classified as critically endangered, with a global population estimated to be less than 700 individuals.
Its former presence spanned everywhere from the Canary Islands to the Black Sea, with vagrants sighted as far south as Cape Verde and as far north as Brittany. Sadly, many regions, including Italy, France, Spain, and Egypt, now consider the species locally extinct, or 'extirpated,' a sobering testament to its decline.
Remaining Strongholds
The entire fragmented population now largely relies on two critical strongholds: the Aegean Sea, home to 250-300 seals in Greece (especially around Gyaros Island) and about 100 in Turkey; and a robust Atlantic subpopulation of around 270 individuals off the Western Saharan portion of Cabo Blanco. These two populations are geographically isolated, meaning natural interchange is impossible.
Beyond these two vital areas, the remaining monk seals exist in tiny, precarious groups, often fewer than five individuals, scattered across southwestern Turkey and the Ionian Sea. The Western Mediterranean's population is virtually moribund, clinging to existence with rare sightings in places like the Balearic Islands and Sardinia, offering glimpses of hope that these ghosts of the past might return.
The Cabo Blanco Tragedy and Triumph
The Cabo Blanco colony in the Atlantic, the largest surviving group, suffered a catastrophic blow in 1997 when over 200 animals—two-thirds of its population—died within two months. The cause was debated, either a morbillivirus outbreak or a toxic algae bloom, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of this species.
Yet, from this disaster, a remarkable story of recovery emerged. With dedicated conservation efforts, the Cabo Blanco population slowly rebounded. By 2009, a small sub-population even began using open beaches again for birthing—a behavior not seen in centuries. This culminated in 2016 when the colony not only recovered its pre-1997 numbers but also set a new record with 83 pups born that year, a true testament to resilience.
Glimmers of Hope: Recent Sightings
Despite the overall dire situation, recent years have brought a surprising increase in monk seal sightings across their historical range, sparking cautious optimism. These aren't just isolated events; they hint at a possible slow expansion or, at the very least, heightened awareness among coastal communities.
Significant sightings include the first record in the Strait of Gibraltar in 2012, a sighting off Tel Aviv in 2010 after 70 years, and several in the Adriatic Sea off Croatia, where a seal even interacted with tourists in Pula in 2014. These interactions highlight the delicate balance between human presence and seal recovery, sometimes leading to tragic outcomes, as seen with the death of a harassed seal in Croatia that same year.
The story of "Yulia," also known as "Tugra," is a recent beacon of hope. This healthy adult female, estimated to be around 20 years old, has been observed resting on beaches in Jaffa, Israel, in May 2023. Tracked by researchers across Turkey and Lebanon, her presence signifies a continued, albeit fragile, presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, with authorities even fencing off areas to protect her.
Sadly, not all encounters are positive. In 2017, a female seal named Argyro, well-known on Samos island, was shot and killed. Even more tragically, in 2021, a previously rescued and rehabilitated seal named "Kostis" was found dead, executed at close range with a spear gun. These incidents underscore the ongoing threats and the urgent need for continued protection and education.
Guardians of the Coast: Preservation Efforts
The survival of the Mediterranean monk seal depends on dedicated conservation. Organizations like MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal in Greece, and SAD-AFAG in Turkey are at the forefront, working to protect habitats, raise public awareness, and mitigate conflicts with local fishermen over damaged nets.
Greece has established the Alonissos Marine Park in the Northern Sporades specifically for the monk seal and its habitat, with strict anti-hunting laws. Turkey is also implementing plans to boost populations in areas like Foça and Gökova. These efforts require both land and sea preservation, as the seals need undisturbed caves for resting and breeding, as well as healthy marine ecosystems for food.
International cooperation is also crucial. The Memorandum of Understanding under the Bonn Convention provides a legal framework for nations like Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain to collaborate on recovery plans for the Eastern Atlantic populations. These agreements are vital to ensure that conservation efforts are coordinated across the seals' fragmented range.
An Ancient Connection: Monk Seals in Culture
The Mediterranean monk seal isn't just a modern conservation concern; it's a creature deeply woven into the tapestry of ancient history and mythology. In Homer's epic 'The Odyssey,' the sea god Proteus is depicted herding monk seals for Poseidon, highlighting their presence and significance in the ancient world.
The mythical hero Phocus of Aegina, whose name literally translates to 'seal' in Greek, was said to be the son of the nereid Psamathe, conceived while she was transformed into a seal. Ancient cities like Phocis and Phocaea were named after this hero or the seals themselves, with Phocaea even adopting the monk seal as its emblem. Yet, despite these connections, ancient Greeks and Romans often viewed seals with a mix of revulsion and fear, associating them with the unknown depths of the ocean.
However, not all ancient interactions were negative. Archaeologists unearthed a 2000-year-old grave in Rhodes, Greece, containing the skeleton of a Mediterranean monk seal, buried with rituals typically reserved for human burials. This extraordinary find, now displayed in the Aquarium of Rhodes, suggests a more complex, perhaps even revered, relationship with these animals in some ancient communities.
Even far from the Mediterranean, monk seals may have made an appearance. In the 11th century BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I received exotic animals, including a mysterious "river-man," as a gift from the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses XI. Depictions on obelisk fragments from Tiglath-Pileser's son, Ashur-bel-kala, show hind flippers strongly suggesting this "river-man" was, in fact, a monk seal, highlighting their widespread ancient recognition.
Article
Mediterranean monk seal
The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. As of 2015, it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Aegean Sea, the archipelago of Madeira, and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean spanning the border of Mauritania and Western Sahara. It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species. It is the only extant species in the genus Monachus, the other two monk seal species being in Neomonachus.
Description
Mediterranean monk seal
This species of seal 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. 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). They are thought to live up to 45 years old; 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. This hair is replaced after six to eight weeks by the usual short hair adults carry. Adults will continue to molt annually, causing their color vibrancy to change throughout the year.
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 their Hawaiian 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.
Reproduction
A colony on Cabo Blanco in 1945
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. Scientists have suggested that they are polygynous, 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. 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. 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%.
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.
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. Most female individuals are believed to reach maturity at four years of age, at which point they will begin to breed. Males begin to breed at age six. 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.
Diet
Mediterranean monk seal
Mediterranean monk seals are diurnal and feed on a variety of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, primarily octopus, squid, lobsters, mullets, flatfish, tuna, sardines, and eels, 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. 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.
Habitat
Mediterranean monk seal
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.
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.
Distribution and status
Mediterranean monk seal
The Mediterranean monk seal can be found in the Mediterranean Sea off of Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, as well as the North Atlantic Ocean off of Mauritania and Western Sahara. It may be locally-extinct (extirpated) in and around Albania, Corsica, Egypt, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, southern Spain (and the Balearic Islands), and Tunisia. Its status in Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco and Syria is unknown.
This earless seal's historical range extended from the northern Atlantic coastline of Western Africa east to the Black Sea, including all offshore islands within the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Desertas, Porto Santo, and as far west as the Azores. Vagrants could be found as far south as The Gambia and the Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) islands, and as far north as Portugal to Northern Spain and the Bay of Biscay to the coast of Brittany.
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.
Some seals have survived in the Sea of Marmara, but the last report of a seal in the Black Sea dates to 1997. Monk seals were present at Snake Island until the 1950s, and several locations such as the Danube Plavni Nature Reserve and Doğankent were the last known hauling-out sites post-1990.
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 the Aegean Sea (250–300 animals in Greece, with the largest concentration of animals in Gyaros island, and some 100 in Turkey); the other important subpopulation is in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Western Saharan portion of Cabo Blanco (around 270 individuals which may support the small, but growing, nucleus in the Desertas Islands – approximately 30–40 individuals). There may be some individuals using coastal areas among other parts of Western Sahara, such as in Cintra Bay.
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.
Other remaining populations are in southwestern Turkey and the Ionian Sea (both in the eastern Mediterranean). The species status is virtually moribund in the western Mediterranean, which still holds tiny Moroccan and Algerian populations, associated with rare sightings of vagrants in the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and other western Mediterranean locations, including Gibraltar.
In Sardinia 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 the National Park of Golfo of Orosei.
Colonies on the Pelagie Islands (Linosa and Lampedusa) were destroyed by fishermen, which likely resulted in local extinction.
Cabo Blanco 1997 die off and recovery
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. In the summer of 1997, more than 200 animals 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 a morbillivirus or, more likely, a toxic algae bloom, 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).
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. Also in 2016, a new record of births was set for the colony (83 pups).
However, the threat of a similar incident, which could severely reduce or wipe out the entire population, remains.
Recent sightings
On Coaling Island in September 2012, possibly the first record in the Strait of Gibraltar
On rocky shore at Serifos, Greece
Group at Lefkada, Greece
Yulia, aka Tugra, female Mediterranean monk seal sleeping in Israel
In June 2009, there was a report of a sighting off the island of Giglio, in Italy. On 7 January 2010, fishermen spotted an injured Mediterranean monk seal off the coasts of Tel 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. In addition, the seal was also sighted a couple of weeks later in the northern kibbutz of Rosh Hanikra.
In April 2010, there was a report of a sighting off the island of Marettimo, in the Egadi Islands off the coast of Italy, in Trapani Province. In November 2010, a Mediterranean monk seal, supposedly aged between 10 and 20, had been spotted in Bodrum, Turkey. On 31 December 2010, the BBC Earth news reported that the MOM Hellenic Society 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 a marine protected area.
On 8 March 2011, the BBC Earth news 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 the Egyptian coast after long absence of the species from the nation.
On 24 June 2011, the Blue World Institute of Croatia filmed an adult female underwater in the northern Adriatic, off the island of Cres and a specimen of unverified sex on 29 June 2012. On 2 May 2013 a specimen was seen on the southernmost point of Istrian peninsula near the town of Pula. On 9 September 2013, in Pula a male specimen swam to a busy beach and entertained numerous tourists for five minutes before swimming back to the open sea. 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. To prevent accidents and preserve monk seal, local city council acquired special educational boards and installed on city beaches. Despite clear instructions, an incident occurred with a tourist harassing a seal. The whole event was filmed. Less than a month later on 25 August 2014 this female monk seal was found dead in the Mrtvi Puć bay near Šišan, Croatia. Experts said it was natural death caused by her old age.
• Alonnisos Marine Park, Greece • 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 at Coaling Island.
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. A study by the Italian Ministry of the Environment in 2013 confirmed the presence of monk seals in marine protected area in the Egadi Islands. In September and October 2013, there were a number of sightings of an adult pair in waters around RAF Akrotiri in British Sovereign Base waters in Cyprus.
In November 2014, an adult monk seal was reportedly seen inside the port of Limassol, Cyprus. A female monk seal, called Argyro by the locals, was repeatedly seen on beaches of Samos island in 2014 and 2015, and two were reported in April 2016. In 2017, Argyro was shot and killed.
On 7 April 2015, a large floating "fish" was reported near Raouche, Beirut in Lebanon, 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.
On 13 August 2015, ten monk seals were spotted in Governor's Beach, Limassol, Cyprus.
On 6 January 2016, a monk seal climbed aboard a parked boat in Kuşadası.
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 in Manavgat District in Turkey's southern Antalya 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.
On 26 April 2016, two monk seals were spotted at the municipal baths area of Paphos, Cyprus.
On 18 October 2016, a monk seal was captured on video around Gulf of Kuşadası.
On 3 November 2016, a monk seal was spotted at the coast of Gialousa in Cyprus.
On 13 June 2017, a specimen was spotted and photographed by a group of fishermen off the coasts of Tricase in the south of Italy.
In early 2018 a mother and her pup were spotted around Paphos Harbour in Cyprus.
In November 2018, a young monk seal was spotted at the coast of Karavostasi in Cyprus, only to be found dead at the same area a few days later.
On 15 March 2019, a monk seal was spotted and photographed by a group of citizens at a marina in Kuşadası.
On 20 July 2019, a monk seal was spotted in Protaras bay area in Cyprus.
On 27 January 2020, a young monk seal was recovered dead from Torre San Gennaro in Apulia.
On 15 December 2020, a monk seal was spotted and videotaped while seated on a sunlounger in Samos Island, Greece.
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."
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.
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. 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 normal molt 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.
On 5 July 2024, a monk seal was spotted in Malta after an absence of 30 years.
Preservation
Mediterranean monk seal
A seal swims at Ras Nouadhibou
Damage inflicted on fishermen's nets and rare attacks on offshore fish farms in Turkey and Greece 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, 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.
In the Aegean Sea, Greece has allocated a large area for the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal and its habitat. The Greek Alonissos Marine Park, that extends around the Northern Sporades islands, is the main action ground of the Greek MOm organisation. 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.
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. Oil companies apparently may have been using the monk seal sanctuary project as a stalking 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.
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) in Turkey (also known as SAD-AFAG). The group has taken initiative in joint preservation efforts together with the Foça municipal officials, as well as phone, fax, and email hotlines for sightings.
Preservation of the species requires both the preservation of land and sea, due to the need for terrestrial haul-out sites and caves or caverns for the animal to rest and reproduce. Even though responsible scuba 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.
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.
Conservation
Mediterranean monk seal
Under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Conservation Measures for the Eastern Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal was concluded and came into effect on 18 October 2007. The MoU covers four range States (Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal and Spain), all of which have signed, and aims at providing a legal and institutional framework for the implementation of the Action Plan for the Recovery of the Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Eastern Atlantic.
As there are indications of small population increases in the subpopulations, in 2023 the Mediterranean monk seal's IUCN conservation status was updated from endangered to vulnerable in keeping with the IUCN's speed-of-decline criteria.
In culture
Mediterranean monk seal
The Mediterranean monk seal occasionally appears in Classical mythology. In Homer's The Odyssey, the sea god Proteus is shown herding monk seals for Poseidon. The mythical hero Phocus of Aegina (with phokos literally translating to seal in Greek) was the son of the nereid Psamathe, and was conceived while she was transformed into a seal. The ancient city of Phocis (and possibly Phocaea) 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 a Caeretan hydria likely created by Phocaean refugees in Etruria.
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.
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 of Rhodes in Greece; and the seal was buried with a ritual that was used for human burials. The skeleton is now exhibited in the Aquarium of Rhodes.
In the 11th century BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I was gifted several animals by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses XI, including a crocodile and an unknown creature known as the "river-man". These animals were displayed in the menagerie of his son Ashur-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.
When the 1979 Mediterranean Games were organised in Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia the mascot of the event was a Mediterranean monk seal named Adriana.