Earless seals threatened by human encroachment, monk seals were once numerous in many places throughout the world. While some populations can be found in a few small areas, these beautiful animals now teeter on the precipice of extinction; conservation offers their only hope of survival. Like other seals, they are important ocean predators, and they are a true pleasure to encounter. Let’s meet the monk seal.
Hawaiian Monk Seals
With grey coats and white bellies, plus a sleek, slender shape, these monk seals are easily distinguished from their cousins, the Harbor Seals. Found throughout the northwest Hawaiian Islands, these seals have huge, soulful black eyes, and tiny vertical nostrils that close when the seals dive in search of food on deep-water coral beds. They love to lounge on the sand, and, unlike most other seals, males are smaller than females, weighing in at 300 to 400 pounds. Females can weigh as much as 600 pounds, and pups weigh in at 30 to 40 pounds just after birth. Descendants of the Caribbean Monk Seal, the Hawaiian Monk Seal is Hawaii’s State Mammal; capturing or harassing one of these animals is illegal.
Mediterranean Monk Seals
Once abundant, Mediterranean monk seals were hunted commercially beginning during the time of the Roman Empire. Up until the twentieth century, these seals felt comfortable hauling out on open beaches, where they would mate and give birth much like other seals around the world. Human encroachment has changed that, and now the rare sighting takes place along remote, rugged coastal areas that are difficult for humans to access. Shy and intelligent, the seals have attempted to save themselves to the detriment of their pups, who often succumb to accidents inside the sea caves where they are born. Already extinct in the Sea of Marmara, and possibly extinct in the Black Sea as well, the entire population consists of an estimated 600 individuals or so. The seals seem to be making a comeback in the Aegean regions of Greece and Turkey, which is home to more than half the known population.
Caribbean Monk Seals
Although divers have spotted these seals with some regularity over the past few decades in areas around Haiti and Jamaica, their numbers are so scarce that they have been declared to be extinct. The last confirmed scientific sighting took place in 1952; prior to that, a few of the animals could be seen in zoos and at aquariums. Once abundant throughout the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the western Atlantic, they were hunted by explorers such as Columbus and Ponce de Leon, as well as by commercial operations. There has been some discussion about reintroducing monk seals to these areas someday in the future.
Monk seals have a natural life expectancy of between 25 and 45 years, however entanglement in fishing gear, run-ins with angry fishermen, and low levels of genetic variation as well as disease has put them at risk. Conservation efforts include translocation, habitat cleanup, and captive care, such as the ongoing efforts in Hawaii which are aimed at increasing the estimated population of about 1,100 individuals. With a continuing focus on preserving the species, we may be able to bring it back from the brink and enjoy the seals’ company once more.