Mediterranean Monk Seal Distribution, Habitat, and Ecology. The critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal is currently threatened by habitat loss and persecution by fishers. In recent years earthquakes in the area have collapsed a number of caves, reducing suitable breeding sites. Hawaiian monk seal is one of the only two mammals that inhabit Hawaiian Islands. It is estimated that there were 2 times this number 20 years ago. Photo credit: (c) Zafer Kizilkaya. Of the 18 species of seals alive today, two are endangered, the Mediterranean monk seal and the Hawaiian monk seals. Females are slightly smaller than males. One cause of this low survival rate is the timing of high surf around the areas of breeding, creating a threat to young pups. Recently taken photos and videos confirm that the Mediterranean monk seal is sensationally making a comeback in Croatia. [36] 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. As for their main threats we can mention the followings: The mediterranean monk seal is in critical danger, with a world population below 600 individuals. When they are on the surface, they tend to divide and be alone, which represents for many specialists   their resting moment. [57], On 26 March 2019, a young monk seal and a mature one 1.5 meter were sighted in Vlora, Albania, in the Ionian sea. Unforeseen or stochastic events such as disease epidemics, toxic algae or oil spills can also threaten the survival of the monk Seals. Irresponsible scuba diving trips scare the seals away from caves which could become habitation for the species. The habitat of the Mediterranean monk seal has changed over the years. Hatchet fish: Characteristics, habitats, care and more, Giant Clams: Everything about the biggest clams of all, Bala Sharks: Characteristics, information, breeding and more, The Anatomy of Fish: Classification, body parts and more, Nori Seaweed: Properties, preparation and much more. The Mediterranean Monk Seal, Monachus monachus, in Montenegro Aliki Panou ... recorded potential habitat availability for monk seals, i.e. The Monachus Guardian 3: 72-74. Hawaiian monk seal is one of the only two mammals that inhabit Hawaiian Islands. The exact location was not communicated so as to keep the site protected. Habitat conservation efforts appear to confirm that Mediterranean monk seals will return to open beaches to rest, nurse their pups and perhaps even breed if human disturbance in marine protected area core zones is eliminated. In recent years earthquakes in the area have collapsed several caves, reducing suitable breeding sites. A study on habitat availability for the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal at the Sao Lourenco Peninsula, at the island of Madeira Habitat. [47], On 13 August 2015, ten monk seals were spotted in Governor's Beach, Limassol, Cyprus. For the past 10 years[citation needed], many groups have carried out missions to educate locals on damage control and species preservation. Such caves may have underwater entrances, not visible from the water line. Habitat Regions; temperate; saltwater or marine ; Aquatic Biomes; coastal; Physical Description. 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. On 8 March 2011, the BBC Earth news[31] reported that a pup seal had been spotted on 7 February while monitoring a seal colony on an island in the southwestern Aegean Sea. Today, only about 40 acres are left. The color of its upper coat is grey and white from the underside. Monachus monachus Mediterranean monk seal Ge­o­graphic Range. 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. To date, marine protected areas for this species have been established in just a fraction of the areas that scientific opinion considers necessary: on the desert islands of Madeira, in the Sporades Islands and the Karpathos islands in Greece, on the shores of the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea of Turkey, and on the coast of the Phoques (Cabo Blanco) in Western Sahara. As of 2015[update], 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. There are no specific reports in relation to the number of specimens left in the world but they are classified in the high risk extinction range by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Such behaviour is now being observed consistently in Madeira’s Desertas Islands Nature Reserve (Pires & Neves 2000, Pires 2004). Adults can reach between 2 and 2.8 meters of total length and weigh between 240 and 300 kg. Mediterranean Monk Seals: Characteristics, habitat and more Brief Review Of The Mediterranean Monk Seals. The main factor contributing to the decline and extinction of true seal species has been hunting by humans. [56], On 15 March 2019, a monk seal was spotted and photographed by a group of citizens at a marina in Kuşadası. [11], 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. Both species are known to have many similarities to each other, and both belong to the family of the true seals. Their diet is not very varied with respect to other seals, since they consume octopus, squid, and a wide variety of fish such as tuna. The deterioration of their habitat due to the coastal development, including disturbance caused by tourism and recreational sailing. [3] It is believed to be the world's rarest pinniped species.[1]. The Mediterranean monk seal is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. As for the Hawaiian monk seals, they hunt their prey in nocturnal hours in order to obtain their food more easily and during the day they rest for long periods of time. The Caribbean monk seal went extinct sometime during the past 100 years due to over hunting. [27] In November 2010, a Mediterranean monk seal, supposedly aged between 10 and 20, had been spotted in Bodrum, Turkey. The seals are threatened by human disturbance of their coastal habitats, disease, and continued hunting. However, this practice has declined almost entirely, due to the critical state of extinction risk of these seals. The Mediterranean monk seal presence has never been verified along Syrian shores and there is a large information gap as to the species’ historical presence as well as a more recent one. Presently however, Mediterranean monk seal sightings only occur at two locations. In the western Mediterranean, they can be found in Algeria and Morocco, and in the North Atlantic in Cape Blanco between Mauritania and the Western Sahara and also in Madeira. That holds true due to the fact that its only confirmed populations consist of three small colonies. This practice has also been diminished by the critical state of conservation of this species. Damage inflicted on fishermen's nets and rare attacks on off-shore 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. Other remaining populations are in southwestern Turkey and the Ionian Sea (both in the eastern Mediterranean). Greece, Cyprus and Turkey still maintain a large population of the species, with around 350-450 individuals. Conservation Status: They are considered “Critically Endangered”. 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