Mediterranean Monk Seal

• conservaciónIt is one of the most threatened pinnipeds on the planet, and its Caribbean relative has been considered extinct since the mid-20th century.
• conservaciónIt is one of the most threatened marine mammals on the planet, and unlike most seals it usually pups inside half-submerged sea caves in the Mediterranean rather than on open beaches.
• It appears as early as Homer's Odyssey and gave its name to the islet of Lobos, off Fuerteventura, where it was hunted in the 15th century: in Spain it disappeared in the 20th century and since 2021 traces of its DNA have again been detected in the Balearics.
• Breeding in caves with underwater entrances is not its natural behaviour: it once pupped on open beaches and only took refuge in caves because of human pressure.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat and environment

Sea caves with submerged entrances, cliffs and coastal waters of the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic

Sexual maturity

4 years

Gestation / incubation

9.5 months

Litter / clutch size

1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monachus_monachus