Types

• There are two species of monk seal: the Mediterranean monk seal and the Hawaiian monk seal. As there respective names suggest, they habituate different locations in the world's oceans. The former is found among the small inlets along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the northwestern coast of Africa and the Canary Islands. The Hawaiian monk seal lives solely among the islands of the Hawaiian atoll, usually on the uninhabited ones. Previously there was a third species, the Caribbean monk seal, but this animal is now extinct.
  
  

Description

• Adult males of monk seals reach a length of around 7 feet and a weight of between 300 and 400 pounds. The females of the Mediterranean species are slightly smaller than the males, while those of the Hawaiian are slightly larger. Both species have a grey-brown coat which is lighter on the underside, although pups are born with black fur. They have stubby flippers and a stream-lined, torpedo-shaped torso. Monk seal life expectancy is approximately 25 years.
  
  

Diet

• The diet of the Mediterranean monk seal consists of fish, eel and octopus. Among the fish species that it preys on are whiting, bonito, carp and sardine. Hawaiian monk seals eat the same prey, supplemented by lobsters that live in the waters around the Hawaiian islands.
  
  

Feeding

• Monk seals are very agile swimmers and chase their prey. They hunt in waters up to around 60 feet in depth, depending on the topography of the ocean floor, although have been recorded diving to depths of 120 feet. Solitary on land, monk seals are more sociable in water, but they do not hunt cooperatively. Prey is eaten underwater or on the surface; it is not brought onto land.
  
  

Threats To Prey

• Both species of monk seals are endangered. There are several reasons for their decline in numbers, including shark predation, global warming and hunting for their skins. However, human competition for their prey animals is a major factor. Overfishing has depleted fish stocks in their primary hunting grounds (a particular problem with regard to Hawaiian lobsters) while many seals have perished from entanglement in fishing nets and lines.