The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a type of seal in the family Phocidae. As of 2015, scientists estimate that fewer than 700 of these seals remain, living in three or four separate groups in the Mediterranean Sea. These groups are found mainly in the Aegean Sea, the Madeira archipelago, and the Cabo Blanco area near the border of Mauritania and Western Sahara in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. This seal is considered the rarest pinniped species in the world. It is the only living species in the genus Monachus, while the other two monk seal species belong to the genus Neomonachus.
Description
This species of seal grows to about 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) long when born and reaches an average length of 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) as adults. Female seals are slightly shorter than males. Adult males weigh about 320 kilograms (710 pounds), and females weigh about 300 kilograms (660 pounds). Their weight can range from 240 to 400 kilograms (530 to 880 pounds). These seals may live up to 45 years old, but most live 20 to 25 years. They reach reproductive maturity at around age 4.
Monk seal pups are about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long and weigh between 15 to 18 kilograms (33 to 40 pounds). Their skin is covered in dark brown to black hair that is 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. A white stripe runs along their bellies, and its shape differs between males and females. In females, the stripe is usually rectangular, while in males, it is often shaped like a butterfly. This hair is replaced after about six to eight weeks with the short, adult fur. Adults molt annually, which changes the color vibrancy of their fur throughout the year.
Pregnant Mediterranean monk seals typically give birth in hard-to-reach underwater caves. However, historical records show they used open beaches for birthing until the 18th century. Each jaw has eight pairs of teeth.
The Mediterranean monk seal has the shortest fur of any pinniped. Male seals have black fur, while females have brown to dark gray fur. Both have a lighter-colored belly, which is nearly white in males. Their snouts are short, broad, and flat, with large, upward-facing nostrils. Unlike Hawaiian monk seals, which have more forward-facing nostrils, Mediterranean monk seals have this unique feature. Their flippers are short, with small, slender claws. Monk seals have two pairs of retractable teats on their abdomen, which is different from most other pinnipeds.
Little is known about the reproduction of this seal. As of 2020, scientists estimate there are about 500 pairs of monk seals remaining worldwide. Researchers believe males are very territorial and mate with multiple females, a behavior called polygynous. Although births occur year-round, there is a peak in September, October, and November. Mating happens in the water, but females give birth and care for pups on beaches or underwater caves. Using underwater caves may help protect pups from predators, as these caves are hard to access. Mothers use stored fat to nurse their pups. Studies show that only about 29% of pups born between September and January survive. One reason for this low survival rate is the timing of high waves near breeding areas, which can threaten young pups. If a female finds her environment unsafe, she may abort her pregnancy, indirectly reducing the population. Smaller populations increase the risk of genetic issues, such as inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity. During other months, the survival rate for pups is about 71%.
In 2008, lactation was observed on an open beach, the first such record since 1945. This suggests the seals may be becoming more comfortable returning to open beaches for breeding in Cabo Blanco.
Pups first enter the water about two weeks after birth and are weaned after about 18 weeks. Female seals leave their pups to feed for an average of nine hours. Most females begin breeding at age 4, while males start breeding at age 6. The gestation period is nearly a year. However, monk seals in the Cabo Blanco colony may have a slightly longer gestation period than a year.
Diet
Mediterranean monk seals are active during the day and eat many types of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, including octopus, squid, lobsters, mullets, flatfish, tuna, sardines, and eels. They consume up to 3 kilograms of food each day. While they often hunt in shallow coastal waters, they can also search for food at depths as deep as 250 meters. The average depth they forage varies among individuals. These seals prefer open areas to hunt, which helps them use their speed more effectively. They are skilled at hunting near the ocean floor, and some have been seen lifting large rocks to find prey.
Habitat
The habitat of this pinniped has changed over time. In ancient times and up until the 20th century, Mediterranean monk seals used open beaches to gather, give birth, and find safety. In more recent years, they have moved away from these beaches and now only use sea caves for these activities. These caves are often hard for humans to reach. Many of the caves have underwater entrances, and they are usually located along remote or rough coastlines.
Scientists have found that this change is a recent adaptation, likely caused by the growth in human population, tourism, and industry. These factors have led to more human activity and the loss of the seals' natural habitat. Because the seals are shy and easily disturbed by people, they have gradually changed their behavior to avoid humans completely in the last century, and possibly even earlier. However, coastal caves can be dangerous for baby seals. Storms at sea often cause harm to pups living in these caves, leading to high rates of death among young seals.
Distribution and status
The Mediterranean monk seal lives in the Mediterranean Sea near Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey. It also lives in the North Atlantic Ocean near Mauritania and Western Sahara. It may no longer live in areas such as Albania, Corsica, Egypt, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, southern Spain (including the Balearic Islands), and Tunisia. Scientists do not know if it still lives in Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, and Syria.
This seal, which lacks ears, once lived from the northern coast of Western Africa east to the Black Sea. This included all islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Desertas, Porto Santo, and as far west as the Azores. Some seals were found as far south as The Gambia and the Cape Verde Islands, and as far north as Portugal, Spain, and the Bay of Biscay.
The number of Mediterranean monk seals dropped sharply over time because of several reasons. First, people hunted them for a long time, especially during the Roman Empire and Middle Ages. In the 20th century, fishermen killed them because they damaged fishing nets by eating fish caught in them. Second, coastal development and pollution harmed their habitat.
Some seals still live in the Sea of Marmara, but the last report of a seal in the Black Sea was in 1997. Monk seals were present at Snake Island until the 1950s. After 1990, the last known places where they rested were the Danube Plavni Nature Reserve and Doğankent.
Today, fewer than 700 Mediterranean monk seals remain, and they live far apart. This makes the species endangered. The only places where they can survive are the Aegean Sea (250–300 seals in Greece, mostly on Gyaros Island, and about 100 in Turkey) and the Atlantic Ocean near Cabo Blanco in Western Sahara (about 270 seals, with a small group of 30–40 seals on the Desertas Islands). Some seals may also live in Cintra Bay in Western Sahara.
These two areas are on opposite sides of the species’ range, so the seals cannot naturally move between them. Other small groups have fewer than 50 mature seals, and many are only small groups of fewer than five individuals.
Other seals live in southwestern Turkey and the Ionian Sea. The species is nearly gone in the western Mediterranean, where only tiny groups remain in Morocco and Algeria. Rare sightings have been reported in the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and other areas, including Gibraltar.
In Sardinia, the last confirmed sightings were in May 2007 and April 2010. More recent sightings suggest the seals may occasionally visit the coasts of central-eastern Sardinia, which have been protected since 1998 by the National Park of Golfo di Orosei.
Fishermen destroyed colonies on the Pelagian Islands (Linosa and Lampedusa), likely causing local extinction there.
Cabo Blanco in the Atlantic Ocean is the largest remaining group of Mediterranean monk seals. In 1997, more than 200 seals, or two-thirds of the population, died in two months. Scientists believe this was caused by a virus or a harmful algae bloom. This event showed how vulnerable the species is.
Since then, the population has slowly recovered. By 2009, a small group of up to 20 seals began using open beaches. In 2009, a female seal gave birth on a beach for the first time in centuries. Open beaches are ideal for seal pups, but humans had disturbed them in the past.
By 2016, the population had grown to about 300 seals. A recovery plan funded by Spain helped this happen. In 2016, the colony had its highest number of births in years (83 pups).
Despite this progress, the risk of another disaster that could harm the population remains.
In June 2009, a seal was seen near the Italian island of Giglio. In January 2010, fishermen in Tel Aviv, Israel, saw an injured seal. When zoo doctors arrived, the seal swam away. This was the first sighting in the area since the 1940s. A few weeks later, the seal was seen near Rosh Hanikra, Israel.
In April 2010, a seal was spotted near Marettimo in Italy’s Egadi Islands. In November 2010, a seal was seen in Bodrum, Turkey. In December 2010, a new colony was found in the Aegean Sea, but its location was kept secret to protect it.
In February 2011, a pup was spotted near the Aegean Sea. It was weak and taken to a rehabilitation center. In April 2011, a seal was seen near Egypt after many years of absence.
In June 2011, a female seal was filmed underwater near Croatia’s island of Cres. In May 2013, a seal was seen near Pula, Croatia. In September 2013, a male seal swam to a busy beach in Pula and stayed for five minutes before returning to the sea. In 2014, seals were seen daily on crowded beaches in Pula. To protect them, signs were placed on beaches. However, a tourist harassed a seal, and the event was recorded. Less than a month later, the same female seal was found dead near Šišan, Croatia. Experts said she died of old age.
In 2012, a seal was seen near Gibraltar. In April 2013, a seal was reported near the area.
Preservation
Damage to fishermen's nets and rare attacks on offshore fish farms in Turkey and Greece have led some local people to hunt the Mediterranean monk seal, mostly out of revenge rather than to control the seal population. Since the 1970s, groups such as civil organizations, foundations, and universities in both countries have worked to protect the species. Over the past 10 years, many groups have conducted programs to teach local communities about reducing damage and preserving the seals. Reports of successful efforts to help the seals have been shared across the region.
In the Aegean Sea, Greece has set aside a large area to protect the Mediterranean monk seal and its habitat. The Greek Alonissos Marine Park, located around the Northern Sporades islands, is the main area where the Greek organization MOm works. MOm focuses on raising public awareness, collecting funds to support seal preservation, and helping the species in Greece and other areas where needed. Greece is now considering designating another monk seal breeding site as a national park. Some areas have also been added to the NATURA 2000 protection program. Laws in Greece strictly prohibit seal hunting, and the public generally supports efforts to protect the Mediterranean monk seal.
In the late 1970s, political challenges arose in the eastern Aegean when the Greek government secretly opposed efforts to protect monk seals. A book by William Johnson describes how oil companies may have used the monk seal sanctuary project as a way to encourage cooperation between Greece and Turkey, which could have helped oil companies gain rights to extract oil in a politically unstable area. Johnson reported that the Greek secret service, YPEA, opposed these plans and worked to stop the project, harming both the seals and conservationists who aimed to protect the species.
In Turkey, one of the largest groups working to preserve the Mediterranean monk seal is the Mediterranean Seal Research Group (Turkish: Akdeniz Foklarını Araştırma Grubu), which operates under the Underwater Research Foundation (Turkish: Sualtı Araştırmaları Derneği, also known as SAD-AFAG). This group collaborates with local officials in Foça and provides hotlines for people to report seal sightings.
Protecting the Mediterranean monk seal requires preserving both land and sea areas, as the animals need land for resting and caves for giving birth. Although responsible scuba diving instructors avoid visiting known seal caves, the rumor of a seal sighting often draws tourists, which can scare seals away from their homes.
On November 18, 2019, the Environment and Urbanization Minister of Turkey announced a plan to help the Foça, Gökova, Datça, and Bozburun subspecies of the Mediterranean monk seal grow in numbers.
Conservation
Under the guidance of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also called the Bonn Convention, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) about Conservation Measures for the Eastern Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal was created and became active on 18 October 2007. The MoU includes four range States (Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain), all of which have signed it. It provides a legal and official structure for carrying out the Action Plan for the Recovery of the Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Eastern Atlantic.
Because there are signs of slight increases in smaller groups of the species, in 2023 the Mediterranean monk seal's IUCN conservation status was changed from endangered to vulnerable, following the IUCN's speed-of-decline criteria.
In culture
The Mediterranean monk seal is sometimes mentioned in ancient Greek stories. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the sea god Proteus is shown caring for monk seals for Poseidon. A mythical hero named Phocus of Aegina (with phokos meaning "seal" in Greek) was the son of a sea nymph named Psamathe. Psamathe was turned into a seal when Phocus was born. The ancient city of Phocis (and possibly Phocaea) was named after Phocus. The city of Phocaea used the monk seal as a symbol, likely because of the story about Phocus or because monk seals once lived near Phocaea. Only one known image of the monk seal from ancient times remains. It is on a clay vase called a Caeretan hydria, possibly made by people from Phocaea who fled to Etruria.
Although the monk seal appears in myths and was linked to certain groups, ancient Greeks and Romans often disliked and feared the animal because of its appearance, smell, and connection to the mysterious ocean. Many Greek and Roman sayings described the seal in a negative way. This dislike may have led to the seal’s population decline over time due to people harming the species.
In the 11th century BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I received several animals from the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses XI, including a crocodile and a creature called the "river-man." These animals were kept in a collection of animals by Tiglath-Pileser’s son, Ashur-bel-kala. Artwork on pieces of stone pillars from Ashur’s time shows the "river-man." A pair of flippers on one piece match those of a monk seal, suggesting the "river-man" was likely a monk seal.
During the 1979 Mediterranean Games in Split, Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia), the event’s mascot was a Mediterranean monk seal named Adriana.