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The Mediterranean monk seal A. A. Karamanlidis et al.

nean, and in North Atlantic waters from Cabo Blanco in the
INTRODUCTION
south to Morocco and northern Spain in the north, includ-
The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is the sole ing the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands (Johnson
representative of the genus Monachus (Scheel et al. 2014).The et al. 2006, González 2015). Vagrants have been recorded in
species was described for the first time in antiquity by Aris- Senegal, the Gambia, the Cape Verde Islands, and Atlantic
totle (Johnson & Lavigne 1999a), then in 1779 by Johann France, but the origin of these individuals is unknown
Hermann,who named the species Phoca monachus because of (Johnson et al. 2006).
his belief that the name moine (monk) was in use colloquially Monk seals have been exploited by humans since prehis-
in Mediterranean France, while at the same time remarking a toric times (Johnson & Lavigne 1999a, Johnson 2004,
visual resemblance to a hooded monk (Johnson 2004). Stringer et al. 2008). Exploitation was particularly intense
Despite this early recognition, low population numbers, the during the Roman era (Johnson & Lavigne 1999a) and in
inaccessibility of its habitat,and lack of coordinated efforts to certain areas, such as the Madeira and Canary Islands and
study and protect the species resulted in the Mediterranean the Bay of Dhakla in Western Sahara, during the Middle
monk seal (hereafter also referred to simply as ‘monk seal’) Ages, when Mediterranean monk seals were commercially
remaining in scientific obscurity for the greatest part of exploited (Isräels 1992, Johnson 2004, Brito 2012, González
modern history.When the first in situ research and conserva- 2015). The species continued to be heavily persecuted by
tion efforts were initiated in the late 1970s, the monk seal was fishermen for most of the 20th century, which led to its dis-
already considered critically endangered (Ronald & Duguy appearance from most of its former range.
1979);poorunderstandingof thespecies’biologyandecology The Mediterranean monk seal is currently considered to
hampered its conservation (Johnson et al. 2006). In the past be the most endangered seal species in the world; its total
25years,however,researchandconservationeffortshavebeen abundance is estimated to be fewer than 700 individuals.
carried out more systematically in the main distribution areas The geographical range of the species is highly fragmented
of the Mediterranean monk seal, greatly advancing our and there are three or four isolated subpopulations (Fig. 1).
understanding of the species.The main aim in this review is to In the Mediterranean, the species is found mainly in the
summarize the most important facts on Monachus monachus sea’s eastern reaches, around islands in the Ionian and
in the hope that it will constitute baseline knowledge to help Aegean Seas in Greece (Adamantopoulou et al. 1999), along
guide future research and conservation efforts. the mainland coasts of Greece, Cyprus, and western and
The uneven character of scientific information on monk southern Turkey (Mursaloglu 1964, Gücü et al. 2004, 2009b,
seals has long complicated a thorough understanding of the Güçlüsoy et al. 2004, Anonymous 2007b, Kiraç et al. 2013).
species. While several studies on the Mediterranean monk In the Turkish Black Sea, monk seals are believed to be
seal are long-running and of high scientific value, others extinct since 1997 (Kiraç & Savas 1996, Kiraç 2011); some
still exist only as ‘grey literature’. This includes a number of individuals still survive in the Sea of Marmara (Inanmaz
studies that have not been formally peer-reviewed, such as et al. 2014). The eastern Mediterranean monk seal sub-
academic dissertations, conference proceedings, etc. The population is currently the largest, and is estimated to
information included in these studies is of variable quality, number fewer than 350 mature individuals (Güçlüsoy et al.
making it difficult to evaluate reliability. In this review, we 2004, Anonymous 2007b, 2008b, 2009a).
have evaluated almost the entire existing literature on the In the North Atlantic, two subpopulations exist: one at
species; most of the ‘grey literature’ has been excluded, Cabo Blanco (also known as Cap Blanc) at the border of
although in some cases, we did use unpublished sources of Mauritania and Western Sahara (González & Fernandez de
essential information. Larrinoa 2012, Martínez-Jauregui et al. 2012), and one at
In this review we: (1) compile information on the distri- the archipelago of Madeira (Pires et al. 2008). The Cabo
bution and status, biology, genetics, ecology, and behaviour Blanco monk seal subpopulation was estimated in the early
of the monk seal; (2) identify threats likely to affect the sur- 1990s to number 317 seals, but a mass mortality event in
vival of the species; and (3) identify the main conservation 1997 reduced the subpopulation by more than two-thirds
priorities and actions aimed at improving the chances of (Forcada et al. 1999, Forcada & Aguilar 2000). Since then,
survival and recovery of the critically endangered Mediter- the subpopulation has been showing encouraging signs of
ranean monk seal. recovery: in 2013, 159 individual adult seals were identified
and it is estimated that approximately 220 seals currently
compose the second largest monk seal subpopulation
DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS
(Martínez-Jauregui et al. 2012, unpublished data,
The Mediterranean monk seal is the only resident pinniped Fundación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad y su
species in the Mediterranean Sea. Monk seals were once Hábitat; CBD Habitat). The third largest subpopulation is
widely distributed throughout the Black Sea and Mediterra- located in the archipelago of Madeira and numbers

2 Mammal Review (2015) © 2015 The Mammal Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd