by Rosa Pires, Parque Natural da Madeira Service
Last March the Natural Park of Madeira (SPNM) received information that a dead monk seal had been discovered near Ribeira Brava, a village on the south coast of the island.
SPNM staff investigated and, with the help of some local people, found the body. It turned out to be “Metade” (“Half”), the adult male that was found in 2013 with a deep wound to his neck.
Since then Metade had been observed using the coastline of Madeira to rest, mainly in marinas and open beaches. He seemed old and just looking for good places to rest and we were already expecting that one of these days we would find him dead.
The body was retrieved with the help of locals and the staff of the “Aquailha” aquaculture center. No specific cause of death was evident. The body was frozen in the Whale Museum of Madeira, where there is already another cadaver.
One of the objectives of the LIFE13 NAT/ES/000974 Madeira Monk Seal project it is to collect the bodies of dead seals to be used in a workshop on monk seal necropsies. Madeira veterinarians will have the chance to be trained to perform seal necropsies and the cause of death of these animals will be established.
Portugal