This month’s article series will be about..
Tenerife! Tenerife is the largest island of the Spanish Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are a Spanish territory off of the coast of the western Sahara. It is best known for the stunning landscapes, amazing food, & it is an absolutely beautiful sight to see. The language spoken most often is a dialect of Spanish called Canarian Spanish. It has some of the most beautiful waters in the world and in Fuerteventura you can even see Morocco from the beach. However it is not about the island we will be discussing, it is the waters around it.
The Lives of Mediterranean Monk Seals
Many creatures live around its tropical waters, including the Mediterranean monk seal.
The Mediterranean monk seal was first discovered in November of 2010. It was spotted in Bodrum, Turkey, and the seal did not show signs of being a juvenile. Mediterranean monk seals are thought to live upwards of 45 years old at maximum. However the average life span seems to be 15 years to 25 years of age. From what we have on record they start out as 80 centimeters (2.62467 feet) long & in adulthood grow up to an average of 2.4 meters (7.87402 feet) long. They primarily prey on but are not limited to eels, sardines, tuna, lobster, flatfish, & mollusks. They also occasionally are known to prey on octopi. Other pinniped seals, sea lions, walruses, & many shark species like to prey on the Mediterranean monk seal. Unfortunately, it is extremely rare to observe the seals reproducing. From what we know after the female monk seal has been impregnated they haul out into the ocean to give birth to their seal pups. They generally don’t give birth to multiple pups at once like most marine mammals do, they give birth to a singular pup instead. Baby Mediterranean monk seals usually stay with their mothers for 4 to 7 & a half weeks. After that they usually leave & fend for their own out in the open ocean. There is no evidence to believe that the male Mediterranean monk seal is involved at all with the babies at this stage of their lives. They don’t roam in packs & they hunt, & live most of their adolescent lives alone. Their mating seasons are from February to July, however this does not mean they don’t mate during other times of the year.
How Humans Have Directly & Indirectly Interacted With Them Over The Years & How They Have Interacted With Us
Mediterranean monk seals roam & graze in the kelp gardens around Tenerife, unfortunately the ocean is slowly becoming polluted. Monachus monachus are endangered, with marine bioscientists believing there to be around 600-700 of them remaining in the wild. Unfortunately this is due to habitat destruction, deliberate death via humans, & getting tangled in nets from commercial fisheries. Despite what you may think, Mediterranean monk seals are incredibly smart. They have been known to purposely tangle themselves in fishermans’ nets, let the fish come into the net, catch some of the fish & swim away. Surprisingly, they are non-aggressive to humans & have been known to investigate nearby humans. they seem to be touchable & quite happy with the affection that humans provide. Unfortunately a Mediterranean monk has not been observed in captivity as of 2022. They seem to only roam in parts of the Mediterranean ocean, & the Atlantic. They have also been spotted off the coast of these following countries; Greece, the Canary Islands, Turkey, Norway, Morocco, Western Sahara, & Mauritania. There is also evidence to believe 3/4 of them live off of the coast of Turkey. These are the known places that they enjoy. However they could be off the coast of France from what we know. They enjoy tropical waters & open ocean ecosystems mostly as this is where most of the monk seals prefer. There are now foundations dedicated to bringing the Mediterranean monk seal off of the endangered list. Many efforts for conservation are currently being made to help & understand these creatures more. Many companies are sponsors towards the preservation & conservation of these magnificent animals. an amazing example of this is https://www.monachus-guardian.org which is dedicated to educating people on the endangerment of the Mediterranean monk seal.
The Roles That Mediterranean Monk Seals Play In The Ecosystems Of Tenerife & Some Of Its Scientific Details
Mediterranean monk seals play a large role in Tenerife’s oceanic ecosystems. They are apex predators in their respective ecosystems, & they heavily control the population of many species of small fish. Their phylum is Chordata. All Chordata develop 5 similar characteristics either in adulthood or as juveniles. The characteristics that they develop include, a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, & a post-anal tail. They are part of the family Phocidae, this is not to be confused with Phocides, a certain genus of butterflies, or Pholcidae, a family of spiders. Phocidae are essentially earless seals, which means that they do not have ear flaps, & they do not have any distinguishable ears that one can see without being up close. Earless seals are sometimes referred to as crawling seals to distinguish them from the family of fur seals & sea lions, Otariidae. Mediterranean monk seals are also the rarest known type of Pinnipedia. Pinnipedia is the Mediterranean monk seals’ clade. This is a contributing factor as to why Mediterranean monk seals to this very date are the rarest seal to find in our oceans.
The Cultural Significance of The Mediterranean Monk Seal
Interestingly, the Mediterranean monk seal holds a lot of cultural significance in Greek culture. They occasionally appear in classic mythology & poetry. One of the better known examples of this is in Homer’s “The Odyssey”; Proteus who is the sea’s shepherd, & is the god of the sea flock. Proteus is seen herding monk seals for his father, Poseidon. The Odyssey is one of the 2 major poems that are written by Homer. The Odyssey is divided into 24 main books & entails the Greek war hero Odysseus returning to his home of Ithaca, & his journey home after the great Trojan war. Another example of Mediterranean monk seals in literature is when the mythical war hero Phocus of Aegina was the son of nereid Psamathe, & was conceived while she was transformed into a monk seal. As well as the city of Phocis & Phocaea were names after Phocus, & Phocaea took on the monk seal as their emblem. In Greek, Phokos translated means seal. This is could possibly be why they took on the monk seal as their emblem. The monk seals are heavily associated with Poseidon & other oceanic gods.
Our Conclusion
Mediterranean monk seals are wonderful creatures that should have more legal protection. Hopefully more journalists & marine biology sources will cover more about these magnificent creatures. We should research them & with this we will hopefully one day capture a live one.
We should try & tag one in order to establish their migration patterns & possibly determine the place that they are found most. This could lead to more discoveries about the monk seal. These creatures deserve more thought & recognition from our marine societies. Here’s to Mediterranean monk seals!
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