The sighting of a monk seal in the waters of the National Park of the Maddalena Archipelago (Sardinia, Italy), made two days ago, was reported in today's issue of La Nuova Sardegna, a local newspaper.
The seal, a young specimen only about 1.5 m long, was reportedly seen cavorting underwater around two skin divers without any trace of fear. One of them, Fannino Curreli - an experienced local diver - expressed no doubts about the identification of the species.
Monk seals, frequent in Sardinia until about 50 years ago, today have almost completely disappeared from the entire western Mediterranean, and sightings in Sardinia are now an extremely rare occurrence. If confirmed, the appearance of a monk seal off La Maddalena is encouraging because it indicates that these rare mammals could one day make a comeback if undisturbed.
Mediterranean monk seals were exterminated by direct killings, excessive fishing and pervasive human disturbance, and have now become one of the most endangered of the planet's mammals. It is thought that only 350-400 specimens of the species still exist in the entire Mediterranean Sea, mostly in Greek and Turkish waters.
Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara
