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In ancient Greece, monk seals were placed under the protection of Poseidon and Apollo because they showed a great love for sea and sun. One of the first coins, minted around 500 BC, depicted the head of a monk seal, and the creatures were immortalized in the writings of Homer, Plutarch and Aristotle. To fishermen and seafarers, catching sight of the animals frolicking in the waves or loafing on the beaches was considered to be an omen of good fortune.

Historically, humans hunted seals for the basic necessities of their own survival - fur, oil, meat, medicines - but did not kill them in large enough numbers to endanger their existence as a species.

Because of their trusting nature they were easy prey for hunters and fishers using clubs, spears and nets. The pelts were used to make tents and were said to give protection against Nature's more hostile elements, especially lightning. The skins were also made into shoes and clothing, and the fat used for oil lamps and tallow candles. Because the animal was known to sleep so soundly, the right flipper of a seal, placed under the pillow, was thought to cure insomnia.

Evidence suggests that the species was severely depleted during the Roman era. Following the fall of the empire, a reduction in demand may have allowed the monk seal to stage a temporary recovery, but not to earlier population levels. Commercial exploitation peaked again in certain areas during the Middle Ages, effectively wiping out the largest surviving colonies. Increasingly, survivors no longer congregated on open beaches and headlong rocks, but sought refuge along inaccessible cliff-bound coasts and in caves (often with underwater entrances). The massive disruption of two world wars, the industrial revolution, a boom in tourism and the onset of factory fishing all contributed to the Mediterranean monk seal's decline - William M Johnson.

Monachus monachus
Endangered
Once common along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts and on the Atlantic shores of northwest Africa, the Canary Islands, and Madeira, this animal now probably numbers fewer than 1,000 and continues to decline.
Although legally protected, it has been persecuted for many centuries by fishermen for its damage to nets and for the fish it eats. In more recent times, the growth of tourism and human disturbance of remote coasts, rocky islands and beaches are believed to have had a serious effect on the seals’ reproductive success. Reserves free from human disturbance and strict law enforcement are vital to this mammal’s survival.

Distribution and Numbers
The Mediterranean monk seal is the most endangered pinniped species worldwide and is currently on the brink of extinction. Although formerly found all over the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and northwest African coast, the species' numbers have now been reduced to perhaps less than 400.

The remaining individuals are found in remote and undisturbed areas around the Mediterranean Sea and northwest African coast. The most important populations are located in Mauritania / Western Sahara, Greece and Turkey, while small numbers are also present in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, the Portuguese Desertas Islands (Madeira), Croatia and Cyprus.

Status
For centuries Mediterranean monk seals have been killed by fishermen who see the seals as competitors or accuse them of destroying their fishing gear. In the past the seals were also killed by those who believed that sealskin and seal parts were able to provide protection from a variety of medical problems. The mortality of monk seals by entanglement in fishing gear is still a problem, while over-fishing has also resulted in a general lack of food resources. The species is very sensitive to disturbance, not an advisable trait in the heavily populated and busy Mediterranean region. The increasing use of motor vessels, expansion of fishing effort and areas, coastal construction and increased tourism have all contributed to the disturbance of Mediterranean monk seals, forcing them to retreat from sandy and rocky beaches to caves, the entrances to many of which are underwater. These caves afford protection from disturbance, but result in potentially higher mortality due to stormy weather, accumulated pollution in the caves, and collapsing cave roofs. Marine pollution and loss of habitat are major problems in the Mediterranean, as is dynamite fishing in the Aegean Sea.

In May-July 1997 there was a mass mortality of Mediterranean monk seals at the important colony on the Cap Blanc Peninsula, Mauritania/Western Sahara, claiming the lives of over 70% of the population, mostly adults and sub-adults, and reducing numbers at the colony from an estimated 310 to less than 90. There have been conflicting opinions as to whether the cause of the mortality was a toxic "red tide" or a newly-found virus that was found in some of the dead seals. This mass mortality could have a profound effect on the species' survival since the Cap Blanc colony was the largest population of Mediterranean monk seals and the only one to possess the actual social and numerical structure of a colony. The mass mortality prompted an international response that included the rehabilitation of four seal pups.

The species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and as an Appendix I species under CITES. It is also listed as an Appendix II species under the Bern Convention, as an Appendix I and Appendix II species under the Bonn Convention, and as an Annex II and Annex IV species under the European Community's Habitats Directive. International efforts to protect the Mediterranean monk seal have been continuing in one form or another for over 25 years.

Various national laws and species survival programmes are in place with the aim of protecting the Mediterranean monk seal within its range. The Desertas Islands Natural Reserve and the National Marine Park of Alonnissos Northern Sporades in Greece have both been set up as local protected areas especially for the Mediterranean monk seal. In March 2001, in a move which should benefit the country's remaining monk seals, Mauritania announced that it is to ban all fishing, except traditional non-motorised fishing by local communities, in the 12,000 km² coastal wetland covered by the boundaries of the Banc d'Arguin National Park. The action was taken to reduce the impact of overfishing by industrial fishing fleets.

A plan by the French government in 1994 to capture six Mediterranean monk seals and start a captive breeding project failed after an outcry from scientists and conservationists who viewed the plan as flawed. The possibility of relocating monk seals from Mauritania to the waters of the Canary Islands, part of the species' former range, is also being examined but has not gained widespread support.

Lifestyle
Mediterranean monk seal pups are generally born in September and October with a black coat and a yellowish white patch on their stomach. The variation in the features of this patch, which frequently has black spots, allows non-invasive identification and sexing of individual pups by scientists. The pup moults at about 4-6 weeks after birth, its black coat replaced by a silvery grey coat. The adult coat varies but is generally a smooth dark brown (said to resemble the robe of a Franciscan friar, hence the name of "monk seal"), often with a lighter patch underneath. Pups are nursed for a period thought to be around 16-17 weeks and learn to dive in shallow waters close to the haulout cave. As weaning occurs, the pups dive in more distant and deeper waters, e.g. up to 10km away and up to 40 metres deep.

The principal mating season of the Mediterranean monk seal is from October to November, mating probably taking place in the water. The species feeds on a large variety of fish, including eels, sardines, tuna, lobsters, flatfish and mullet, and also cephalopods such as octopus. Feeding is mostly carried out during the day and in shallow water. The Mediterranean monk seal is relatively sedentary and does not migrate to any known extent. There are generally no known predators other then man, although reports have been heard of predation by killer whales and sharks.

Statistics
Adult male and female Mediterranean monk seals measure about 2.4m in length on average, the females slightly shorter. Adult males are slightly heavier at an average weight of 315kg, adult females at an average weight of 300kg. Pups are born measuring 80-100cm in length and weighing 17-24kg. It is believed that Mediterranean monk seals can dive up to depths of 100m. Sexual maturity is reached at the age of 4-6 years, and it is thought that individuals can live up to 20-30 years of age.