12 Facts About Monk seal

All three monk seal species were classified in genus Monachus until 2014, when the Caribbean and Hawaiian species were placed into a new genus, Neomonachus.

The Hawaiian monk seal experienced population drops in the 19th century and during World War II, and the Caribbean monk seal was exploited since the 1500s until the 1850s, when populations were too low to hunt commercially.

The Mediterranean monk seal has experienced commercial hunting since the Middle Ages and eradication by fishermen.

All three monk seal species were classified in genus Monachus until 2014, when comparison of the species' mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences led biologists to place the Caribbean and Hawaiian species in a new genus, Neomonachus.

The only other fossil monk seal is Pliophoca etrusca, from the late Pliocene of Italy.

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Mediterranean monk seal has a short, broad, and flat snout, with very pronounced, long nostrils that face upwards.

Hawaiian monk seal has a short, broad, and flat snout, with long nostrils that face forward.

Hawaiian monk seal has the lowest level of genetic variability among the 18 pinniped species, allegedly due to a population bottleneck caused by intense hunting in the 19th century.

Directly, the Monk seal can become snared by fishing equipment, entangled in discarded debris, and even feed on fish refuse.

The legislation in Greece is very strict towards seal hunting, and in general, the public is very much aware and supportive of the effort for the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal.

One of the largest groups among the foundations concentrating their efforts towards the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal is the Mediterranean Seal Research Group operating under the Underwater Research Foundation in Turkey.

Extinction of the Caribbean monk seal was mainly triggered by overhunting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to obtain the oil held within their blubber, fueled by the large demand for seal products.