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Mediterranean monk seal - MONACHUS MONACHUS
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Seal": "Seal" comes from the Old English word "seolh," for the animal.
Location: The Mediterranean sea; in a few isolated colonies in the Aegean Sea; and a colony off the coast of Mauritania.
Habitat: Warm coastal waters of the Mediterranean and inaccessible rocky coasts; often found in submarine caves and grottoes.
Description: It is grayish-brown on the back and lighter on the underside, sometimes with large white patches on the belly. The tips of the brown hairs are often yellowish. There is practically no underfur. Total length is about six feet, and it weighs up to 660 pounds, with the female about the same size as the man.
Behavior: Little is known about this rare species. The remaining few isolated colonies probably total no more than 500 to a 1000 individuals. It is extremely difficult to observe these seals, because they hide in caves and grottoes, which often have underwater access only. Perhaps the decades of hunting by fishermen (who blame the monk seal for destroying their nets) has caused this behavior. It feeds on fish and mollusks.
Reproduction: The female has 4 nipples. Female mammals usually give birth to half the number of nipples that they have, but little is known of this seal’s reproductive habits. It probably reproduces in summer.
Note: This seal is currently the subject of a major conservation campaign by the governments of the Mediterranean countries - particularly Greece.
Go to the Carnivora Page to learn more about the all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Seal Index to study other
seals.
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