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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
monk
seals |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Pinnipedia |
| FAMILY: |
Phocidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Monachus
spp. (Comes from the Greek word monakhos, meaning
"monk" or "solitary") |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Monk
seals belong to the pinniped family Phocidae (true
seals). Seals differ from sea lions (eared seals)
in a number of ways, including having shorter, stouter
flippers, and no visible earflaps. Monk seals tend
to be dark brown to grayish brown on the dorsal
side and lighter yellow to whitish ventrally. Pups
of both species are blackish in color. Monk seals,
along with bearded seals, are the only phocids that
have two pairs of abdominal mammae. |
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| SIZE: |
Mediterranean
monk seals can measure up to 2.8 m (9.2 ft.), with
no size difference between males and females. Hawaiian
monk seal adult males are slightly smaller than
females.
Newborn
Mediterranean pups average lengths of 85-110 cm
(33-43 in.) while Hawaiian monk seal pups may
be 1 m (3.4 ft.) long at birth.
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| MALE |
Mature
male Hawaiian monk seals may reach maximum lengths
of 2.1 m (6.9 ft.). |
| FEMALE |
Hawaiian
monk seal adult females may measure as much as 2.4
m (7.75 ft.). |
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| WEIGHT: |
Adult
Mediterranean monk seals can weigh 240-400 kg (529-881
lb.) and pups of both species weigh as much as 16-18
kg (35-40 lbs.). |
| MALE |
Adult
Hawaiian monk seal males can weigh up to 230 kg
(510 lb.). |
| FEMALE |
Hawaiian
monk seal adult females may weigh as much as 270
kg (595 lb.). |
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| DIET: |
Hawaiian
monk seals feed primarily on reef fishes, eels,
octopuses, and lobsters. Mediterranean monk seals
feed on a variety of fishes and octopuses. |
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| GESTATION: |
May
be about 11 months for both species. |
| ESTRAL
PERIOD |
Hawaiian
Monk seals unusually long breeding season lasts
from December to mid-August, but most pups are born
from March to June. |
| NURSING
DURATION |
5-6
weeks; In Mediterranean monk seals possibly as much
as 16-17 weeks in some rare cases. |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
4-6
years for both species |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Probably
25-30 years for both species. |
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| RANGE: |
Hawaiian
monk seals are found throughout the northwestern
chain of the outermost Hawaiian Islands and occasionally
on the main island group.
Once
abundant throughout the Mediterranean Sea, the
southern Black Sea, and the northwestern coast
of Africa, the Mediterranean monk seals are now
scattered through just a small part of their historical
range.
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|
| HABITAT: |
Both
species inhabit coastal areas. When Mediterranean
monk seals haul out, they usually prefer caves or
grottos, some with underwater entrances. Hawaiian
monk seals typically haul out on sandy beaches. |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
An
estimated 500-1,000 individuals are all that remain
of the Mediterranean monk seal, and there are probably
only 1,300-1,400 Hawaiian monk seals remaining. |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
The
Mediterranean monk seal is listed as Critically
Endangered, the Caribbean monk seal is regarded
as Extinct, and the Mediterranean monk seal is listed
as Endangered. |
| CITES |
Both
the Mediterranean monk seal and the Mediterranean
monk seal Appendix I. The Caribbean monk seal is
listed as Extinct. |
| USFWS |
The
Hawaiian monk seal is listed as endangered |
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| 1. |
There
are two living species of monk seals: Hawaiian monk
seal (Monachus schauinslandi) and Mediterranean
monk seal (Monachus monachus). A third species,
the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis)
is believed to be extinct-no individuals have been
observed since the early 1950s. |
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| 2. |
Scientists believe Hawaiian monk seals to be "living
fossils". The anatomy, behavior and physiology
of this species of monk seal is only slightly different
from monk seals that ranged along the eastern coast
of the United States 14-16 million years ago. |
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| 3. |
Mediterranean monk seals are one of the least social
pinnipeds when they are on shore, but may be more
social in the water. These are considered one of
the most critically endangered species of mammal
in the world. |
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| 4. |
Tiger
sharks often prey upon Hawaiian monk seals as evidenced
by shark bite wounds present on many monk seals.
Other shark predators include gray reef and white-tipped
reef sharks. Predation by sharks possibly helps
explain why female Hawaiian monk seals seem to prefer
beach sites adjacent to shallow water on which to
give birth and raise their pups. |
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Both
Mediterranean and Hawaiian monk seals are endangered.
Researchers estimate that the population has declined
60% since the late 1950s. Threats to monk seals
are widespread and numerous. All three species
of monk seals have suffered a long history of
commercial hunting. Pollution and human development
have also posed serious threats to monk seal populations.
Hawaiian monk seals also succumb to lack of prey,
tiger shark attacks, and even violent mobbing
interactions with each other.
Monk
seals are protected by the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (ESA). Hawaiian monk seals are also
protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act
of 1972 and by other federal and local legislation.
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|
|
Byrum,
J. Pinnipeds From Pole to Pole: Seals, Sea
Lions and Walruses. SeaWorld Education Department
Publication. San Diego. SeaWorld, Inc. 2000.
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|
|
Jefferson, T.J. Leatherwood, S. and M.A. Webber.
FAO Species Identification Guide. Marine Mammals
of the World. Rome. FAO, 1993. |
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|
Rauzon, M.J. Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and
History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Honolulu. University of Hawai'i Press. 2001.
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| Reeves,
R.R., Stewart, B.S. and S. Stephen. The Sierra
Club Handbook of Seals and Sirenians. San Francisco:
Sierra Club Books, 1992. |
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| Reeves,
R. R., Stewart, B.S., Clapman, P.J., and J.A. Powell
(Peter Folkens illustrator). National Audubon
Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.
New York: Random House, 2002. |
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| Riedman,
M. The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses.
Berkeley and Los Angeles. University of California
Press. 1990. |
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| http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/species/Pinnipeds/hawaiianmonkseal.html |
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| http://www.animalinfo.org/species/carnivor/monamona.htm
IUCN Animal Info-Mediterranean Monk Seal |
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