The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a type of monk seal that belongs to the Phocidae family. As of 2015, it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals remain, living in three or four separate groups in the Mediterranean Sea. These groups are especially found in the Aegean Sea, the archipelago of Madeira, and the Cabo Blanco area in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, which spans the border of Mauritania and Western Sahara. It is considered the world's rarest pinniped species. It is the only living species in the genus Monachus. The other two monk seal species belong to the genus Neomonachus.
Description
These seals grow from about 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) long when they are born to an average of 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) long as adults. Female seals are usually slightly shorter than males. Males weigh an average of 320 kilograms (710 pounds), and females weigh 300 kilograms (660 pounds). Their weight can range from 240 to 400 kilograms (530 to 880 pounds). Scientists believe these seals can live up to 45 years, but most live 20 to 25 years. They reach reproductive maturity at about age four.
Newborn monk seal pups are about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long and weigh around 15 to 18 kilograms (33 to 40 pounds). Their skin is covered with 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 butterfly-shaped. This hair is replaced after six to eight weeks with the short, adult hair. Adults molt annually, which changes the vibrancy of their fur throughout the year.
Pregnant Mediterranean monk seals usually give birth in hard-to-reach underwater caves, though historical records show they once used open beaches until the 18th century. They have eight teeth in each jaw. The fur of Mediterranean monk seals is the shortest among pinnipeds. Males have black fur, while females have brown to dark gray fur. Both have a lighter-colored belly that is nearly white in males. Their snouts are short, broad, and flat, with large nostrils that point upward. This differs from Hawaiian monk seals, which have nostrils that face forward. Their flippers are short, with small, slender claws. Monk seals have two pairs of retractable abdominal teats, unlike most other pinnipeds.
Little is known about the reproduction of these seals. Scientists estimate there are about 500 pairs of monk seals remaining worldwide. They are believed to be polygynous, meaning males mate with multiple females and are very territorial. Mating occurs in the water, but females give birth and care for pups on beaches or underwater caves. Using caves may help protect pups from predators, as these areas are hard to access. Mothers use stored fat to nurse their young. Studies show only about 29% of pups born between September and January survive. One reason for this low survival rate is high surf near breeding areas, which threatens young pups. If a female feels her environment is unsafe, she may abort her pregnancy, indirectly reducing the population. Smaller populations increase the risk of genetic issues, such as inbreeding and low genetic diversity. During other months, the survival rate of pups is about 71%.
In 2008, scientists observed a female monk seal nursing on an open beach, the first such record since 1945. This might indicate the seals are becoming safer in areas like Cabo Blanco. Pups first enter the water two weeks after birth and are weaned at around 18 weeks. Female seals care for pups for about nine hours at a time before returning to feed. Most females begin breeding at age four, while males start breeding at age six. The gestation period lasts nearly a year. However, monk seals in the Cabo Blanco colony may have slightly longer gestation periods.
Diet
Mediterranean monk seals are active during the day and eat a variety of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, such as 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 areas, they can also search for food at depths of up to 250 meters. The average depth they hunt at can differ between individual seals. These seals prefer hunting in open areas, which allows them to use their speed more efficiently. They are skilled at hunting on the ocean floor. Some seals have been seen lifting large rocks to find prey.
Habitat
The habitat of this pinniped has changed over time. In ancient times and until the 20th century, Mediterranean monk seals used to gather, give birth, and find safety on open beaches. In more recent years, they have moved away from these areas and now only use sea caves for these activities. Many of these caves are hard for people to reach. Often, the caves have underwater entrances, and many are located along remote or rough coastlines.
Scientists have confirmed that this change is a recent adaptation, likely because of the rapid growth of human populations, tourism, and industry. These factors have caused more human activity and damage to the seals' natural habitat. Because these seals are naturally shy and sensitive to human presence, they have gradually adapted to avoid humans completely in the last century, and possibly earlier. However, coastal caves can be dangerous for newborn seals, and strong sea storms often cause serious harm to pups living in these areas.
Distribution and status
The Mediterranean monk seal lives in the Mediterranean Sea near Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey, as well as the North Atlantic Ocean near Mauritania and Western Sahara. It may no longer be found in Albania, Corsica, Egypt, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, southern Spain (including the Balearic Islands), and Tunisia. Scientists do not know if the seals still live in Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, and Syria.
This seal, which lacks ears, once lived from the northern Atlantic 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 traveled as far south as The Gambia and Cape Verde islands, and as far north as Portugal, Spain, and the Bay of Biscay near Brittany.
Over time, the number of seals dropped because of several reasons: hunting by people (especially during the Roman Empire and Middle Ages), and in the 20th century, fishermen tried to eliminate them because they damaged fishing nets by eating fish caught in them. Also, building along coasts and pollution hurt the seals.
Some seals still live in the Sea of Marmara, but no seals have been seen in the Black Sea since 1997. Monk seals were found on Snake Island until the 1950s, and the last known places where they rested were the Danube Plavni Nature Reserve and Doğankent after 1990.
Today, fewer than 700 seals remain, scattered across the world. This makes the species endangered. The seals now live in only two main areas: the Aegean Sea (250–300 seals in Greece, mostly on Gyaros Island, and about 100 in Turkey) and the Atlantic Ocean near Western Sahara (about 270 seals, with a small group of 30–40 on the Desertas Islands). Some seals may also live in Cintra Bay, Western Sahara.
These two areas are far apart, so the seals cannot naturally move between them. Other small groups of seals live in southwestern Turkey and the Ionian Sea. In the western Mediterranean, only tiny numbers of seals remain in Morocco and Algeria, with rare sightings near the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Gibraltar.
In Sardinia, the last confirmed sightings were in May 2007 and April 2010. The National Park of Golfo di Orosei has helped protect some areas where seals might live.
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 seals. In 1997, more than 200 seals died in two months, possibly due to a virus or toxic algae. This event showed how fragile the species is.
Since then, the population has slowly recovered. In 2009, a female seal gave birth on a beach for the first time in centuries. By 2016, the population reached about 300 seals, helped by a recovery plan funded by Spain. In 2016, the colony had 83 baby seals.
Despite this progress, the risk of another disaster that could harm the population remains.
In June 2009, a seal was seen near Italy’s Giglio Island. In January 2010, an injured seal was spotted near Tel Aviv, Israel, but it swam away before help could reach it. This was the first sighting in Israel since the 1940s. A few weeks later, the same seal was seen near Rosh Hanikra, Israel.
In April 2010, a seal was spotted near Marettimo Island, Italy. 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 baby seal was found weak near the Aegean Sea and taken to a rehabilitation center. In April 2011, a seal was seen near Egypt after many years of absence.
In 2012, a seal was spotted in Gibraltar. In 2013, a seal was seen near Croatia’s Cres Island and Pula. In 2014, seals were regularly seen on crowded beaches in Pula, where signs were placed to protect them. However, a tourist harassed a seal, and the same seal was later found dead near Šišan, Croatia, likely due to old age.
Other sightings include:
– Alonnisos Marine Park, Greece
– Near Šišan, Croatia
In 2012, a seal was seen in Gibraltar. In April 2013, a seal was believed to be near another location.
Preservation
Damage to fishermen's nets and rare attacks on fish farms in Turkey and Greece have led some local people to hunt the Mediterranean monk seal, mainly out of revenge rather than to control their numbers. Since the 1970s, groups such as civil organizations, foundations, and universities in both countries have worked to protect the seals. Over the past 10 years, many groups have conducted programs to teach local people how to reduce damage and preserve the species. Reports show that these efforts have had positive results in the area.
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 MOm organization works. MOm has been very active in raising public awareness, raising money to help protect the seals, and supporting efforts in Greece and other places where needed. Greece is currently studying the possibility of designating another monk seal breeding site as a national park. Some areas have also been included in the NATURA 2000 protection program. Greek laws strictly prohibit seal hunting, and the public widely supports efforts to protect the Mediterranean monk seal.
In the late 1970s, the Greek government secretly opposed efforts to protect monk seals in the eastern Aegean, as described in a book by William Johnson. 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 region. Johnson wrote that the Greek secret service, the YPEA, opposed these plans and worked to stop the project, harming both the seals and conservationists who aimed only to protect the species and its habitat.
One of the largest groups working to protect 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) in Turkey (also known as SAD-AFAG). This group has partnered with officials in the town of Foça and established phone, fax, and email 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 or caverns for giving birth. While responsible scuba diving instructors avoid visiting known seal caves, the news of a seal sighting often attracts tourists, which can scare the seals away from their resting and breeding areas.
On November 18, 2019, the Environment and Urbanization Minister of Turkey announced a plan to further protect the species, aiming to increase the numbers of the Foça, Gökova, Datça, and Bozburun subspecies.
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 signed and became active on October 18, 2007. The MoU involves four countries (Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain), all of which have agreed to it. Its goal is to create rules and organizations to help carry out the Action Plan for the Recovery of the Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Eastern Atlantic.
In 2023, the IUCN updated the Mediterranean monk seal's conservation status from endangered to vulnerable. This change was based on signs that the number of seals in some groups is slightly increasing, following the IUCN's criteria for how quickly a population is declining.
In culture
The Mediterranean monk seal is sometimes mentioned in stories from ancient Greece. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the sea god Proteus is shown taking care of monk seals for Poseidon. Another story tells of Phocus of Aegina, whose name comes from the Greek word phokos, meaning "seal." Phocus was the son of a sea nymph named Psamathe, who changed into a seal before he 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, possibly because of the story about Phocus or because monk seals once lived near Phocaea. Only one known ancient drawing of the monk seal exists, found on a pottery jar called a Caeretan hydria, likely 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 generally disliked and feared the animal because of its appearance, smell, and connection to the mysterious ocean. Many sayings and stories from ancient Greece and Rome described the seal in a negative way. This dislike may have led to people harming the species, which caused its numbers to drop over time.
However, in the 11th century BC, an ancient burial site in Rhodes, Greece, uncovered the skeleton of a Mediterranean monk seal. The seal was buried with a ritual used for humans, and its remains are now displayed at the Aquarium of Rhodes.
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, and were shown on pieces of stone carvings. On one of these pieces, parts of a seal’s flipper were found, suggesting the "river-man" was likely a monk seal.
In 1979, during the Mediterranean Games in Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, the event’s mascot was a Mediterranean monk seal named Adriana.