MONK SEALS

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

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")

FAST FACTS

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.

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.
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.).

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.).

DIET:

Hawaiian monk seals feed primarily on reef fishes, eels, octopuses, and lobsters. Mediterranean monk seals feed on a variety of fishes and octopuses.

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.

SEXUAL MATURITY:

4-6 years for both species

LIFE SPAN:

Probably 25-30 years for both species.

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.

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.

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.

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