It was just a week ago, while waiting to embark on a plane, that I received a very unexpected news: a Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) has been sighted near my hometown, in the North-western Adriatic Sea. As I first approached the world of pinnipeds through this species, I was extremely enthusiastic. Given their rarity and elusiveness, observing a Mediterranean monk seal in the wild could be compared to coming face to face with a ghost. But to better understand this concept, it`s first of all important to know what a monk seal is, and how our relationship with this species has been shaped through millennia.
The Mediterranean monk seal are medium-sized phocids, with both males and females reaching in average 2.4 m in length and around 300 kg of weight. What is striking about their appearance is a well-defined sexual dimorphism in the body coloration, a unique case among phocids. While adult females are greyish-brownish, males are characterized by a black pelage with a white belly spot often extending on the flanks. This peculiar pattern is first observed in newborn, lost through molts as seals grows up, before coming back as males reach adulthood. Furthermore, the white belly patch preserve the same shape in both pups and adults, meaning that it can be used as a fingerprint for possibly identifying an animal through its life.
What made up the diet of a Mediterranean monk seal? Pinnipeds are usually generalist, and monk seals are no exception, targeting a plethora of other marine organisms depending on seasonal and local availability. Fish, crustaceans and mollusk are commonly preyed, with evidence confirming the sporadic consumption of sea birds and sea turtles.
Mediterranean monk seals were found through the whole Mediterranean and Black seas, spreading through the North Atlantic Ocean from Gambia to the North of Spain. Due to a long-lasting hunting pressure, with peaks during the Classical age and Middle Age, the species has however suffered a dramatic demographic decline. While historical records could suggest the past presence of thriving colonies, Mediterranean monk seals are now considered one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with fewer than 1000 individuals. Relict populations are now mainly found in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean), in the Madeira Archipelago and at the Cabo Blanco peninsula (between Morocco and Mauritania). While evidence suggest an ongoing demographic recovery, the species is still threatened by accidental captures in fishing gear, illegal poaching, and pollution.
Despite their sad story, Mediterranean monk seals are the proof that research and wildlife protection can make a difference in saving a species from the brink of extinction. It is only through our decision, even the smaller ones, that changes for the better are being done.
