by: Dagmar Fertl
The monk seal gets its name from the Greek "monakhos" for a monk or solitary one. This seal has a smooth, round head which resembles a human head covered with a hood and what looks like a frock covering the shoulder and flippers.
These seals are dark brown on their backs with lighter shading on their bellies. However, there are also all-black and all-silvery white animals. Blotching on the body or a white belly patch is not uncommon.
Adult monk seals are about 2.8 m and weigh 250-400 kg.
This seal is found in the Mediterranean and along northwestern Africa to approximately 34 degrees North. This species will come ashore on open beaches in West Africa.
The Mediterranean monk seal spends most of its time within a limited range. They are known to eat octopus, rays, and a variety of fishes (large fish are taken to the water's surface and shaken apart, so that they can be eaten). On land, this is an extremely solitary species.
This is a highly endangered seal that has a poor chance of long-term survival. Persistent hunting caused the demise of this species. Problems that continue to face this species include poaching, overfishing, pollution, and development of much of the region in which it lives.
Endangered.
Riedman, M. 1990. The pinnipeds: seals, sea lions, and walruses. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Harwood J. Stanley H. Beudels M O. Vanderlinden C. Metapopulation dynamics of the Mediterranean monk seal. McCullough, D. R. (Ed.). Metapopulations and wildlife conservation; First Annual Meeting of the Wildlife Society, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, September 22, 1994. xi+429p. 241-257. Island Press: Washington, D.C., USA. ISBN 1-55963-458-8. 1996.
Jefferson, T.A. Leatherwood, S. and M.A. Webber. 1994. FAO Species Identification Guide, Marine Mammals of the World. FAO of the United Nations, Rome.
Leatherwood, S., R.R. Reeves, and B.S. Stewart. 1992. The Sierra Club Handbook of Seals and Sirenians. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA. 359 pp.
Menchero D C. Georgakopoulos-Gregoriades E. Kalogeropoulos N. Psyllidou-Giouranovits R. Organochlorine levels in a Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). Marine Pollution Bulletin 28 (3). 1994. 181-183.
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