Category: Mediterranean News

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Sealed With a Kiss?

Press Watch, National Geographic BlogWild, July 15, 2009

If you believe the Beatles, love is all you need. Perhaps … but best bring SCUBA gear just in case.

Badem, an orphaned monk seal that lives just off Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, gives killer hugs—literally!

The affectionate pinniped loves to play with people. […]

Marine ecologist and National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala got called in last year, along with Turkey’s Underwater Research Society (SAD-AFAG), to help teach Badem not to hurt the ones she loves. […]

Full BlogWild article


TMG comment and reply to BlogWild

Ah! for those halcyon days when National Geographic was actually a serious journal, rather than a Disney publication.

Contrary to the impression conveyed in your “report”, rescue and rehabilitation of Mediterranean monk seals — Europe’s most endangered marine mammal — is an issue of crucial importance. With few case studies from which to draw experience, each rehabilitation presents a steep learning curve to those involved — veterinarians, nurses, researchers, volunteers. Occasionally, pups in rehab may become imprinted on their human carers, and — as in Badem’s case — continue to interact with humans after release. One of the keys to remedying this behavioural aberration is to discourage beach-goers and swimmers from playing or interacting with the animal — thereby benefiting both the seal itself and the humans involved. Swimming with monk seals can be dangerous — as attested by the considerable numbers of people who have sustained injuries during such play.

Making light of the risks rather than emphasising their potential seriousness, your picture story only ends up romanticising such interactions, and is therefore the height of irresponsibility (as well as poor journalism).

To  suggest that a National Geographic Fellow was called in “to help teach Badem not to hurt the ones she loves” (i.e. by swimming and interacting with her) is not only an insult to the intelligence but also to all those dedicated people who have been working in monk seal rehab and post-release monitoring over the years.

William M. Johnson, Editor, The Monachus Guardian, www.monachus-guardian.org

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i-monk Alliance holds second meeting in Gököva Bay, Turkey

© i-monk Alliance
© i-monk Alliance

The International Monk Seal Conservation Alliance (known by its abbreviation, i-monk) held its second regular meeting in Gököva Bay, Turkey on 11-12 June 2009. Gököva Bay is the site of an integrated coastal zone management plan being implemented by i-monk Alliance member SAD-AFAG in association with Turkey’s Environment Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA).

i-monk Alliance participants at Gököva Bay. © SAD-AFAG
i-monk Alliance participants at Gököva Bay. © SAD-AFAG

Formally established last year, the i-monk Alliance aims to strengthen ties between monk seal conservation and research projects from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Atlantic, developing common strategies in conservation policy and operational protocols [see International Alliance takes shape in Madeira, TMG 11 (2): November 2008]. Founding and current members are CBD-Habitat (Fundación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad y su Hábitat) of Spain, IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), MOm (The Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal) of Greece, The Monachus Guardian (an international journal and website dedicated to monk seals and their threatened habitats), the Parque Natural da Madeira of Portugal  and SAD-AFAG (Underwater Research Society / Mediterranean Seal Research Group) of Turkey.

The Gököva Bay meeting ended with participants agreeing a raft of measures to enhance international coordination, design common operational protocols, develop joint projects, and improve public outreach and lobbying.

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Monk seal sighting at Giglio Island

by Luigi Bundone and Luigi Guarrera, Gruppo Foca Monaca
Giglio Island, Italy, 7 June 2009 (Photo Marco Prete)
Giglio Island, Italy, 7 June 2009 (Photo Marco Prete)

Last Sunday 7 June, in the waters of Giglio Island, Tuscan Archipelago, another individual was sighted not far from the tower of Giglio Campese. The encounter lasted for about two hours, thanks in part to the considerate attitude shown by people present during the event. Franca Zanichelli, the Director of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago, released a short interview to the Italian press agency ANSA: “I am really enthusiastic, we have immediately verified the sighting together with GFM Italia, a group we cooperate with since a long time. In fact I am not so much surprised by the news: I am pretty aware that, even if these animals are rare, they still live in our sea. And the behaviour of the observers was very good, they did not disturb the seal, receiving as a perfect gift in exchange an experience that would represent an impossible dream for many naturalists”.

Continue reading “Monk seal sighting at Giglio Island”

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Rare monk seal spotted

Press watch — ANSA, June 9, 2009

Endangered species disappeared from Italy 20 years ago

(ANSA) – Grosseto, June 9 – An extremely rare example of a Mediterranean monk seal, believed to be the world’s most endangered pinniped, has been spotted off the Tuscan island of Giglio. […]

”It showed off for about two hours, surfacing and diving, coming and going,” said Marco Prete, who was among tourists sunbathing on rocks when the seal appeared and managed to take some shots with his camera.

”Luckily there were only a few of us there to see it, and nobody decided to jump in the water so it could enjoy itself undisturbed just a few metres from the rocks,” he told the local Giglio News.

Continue reading “Rare monk seal spotted”

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Artemis found dead on Skiathos

Orphaned monk seal pup ‘Artemis’ has been found dead on Skiathos in the Northern Sporades.

The body was discovered on 14 May 2009, floating in Skiathos harbour. It was transferred the same day to Athens for necropsy, conducted by Prof. Dr. Thijs Kuiken, a veterinary pathologist specialising in marine mammals from Erasmus University, Rotterdam.

The necropsy established that Artemis was in excellent nutritional condition and overall health, with a body weight normal for her age. There was clear evidence that the seal had died as a result of drowning – most probably the result of becoming entangled in fishing gear.

Continue reading “Artemis found dead on Skiathos”

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Artemis calling…

Artemis has sent her first SMS messages back to base, according to MOm researchers, indicating that the pup, released last Saturday, remains in the core zone of the National Marine Park of Alonissos, Northern Sporades. Stay tuned for further details…