Caribbean Monk Seal
(Monachus tropicalis)
EXTINCT
| Distribution and Numbers There have been no confirmed sightings of the Caribbean monk seal, also known as the West Indian monk seal, since 1952. The species is thought to have originally inhabited the beaches, cays and reefs of the Caribbean, including at least the Greater Antilles, the northern Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas, the northeastern coasts of Central America, Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the Florida Keys. The last remaining colony is believed to have been at Serranilla Bank, halfway between Nicaragua and Jamaica. |
| Status The Caribbean monk seal was hunted for its blubber, to make oil, and for its meat ever since Western ships explored the area, Columbus' ship itself killing eight "sea wolves" in 1495. Hunting was carried out both on an opportunistic basis by local fishermen as well as on a commercial basis. There are accounts of people surviving shipwrecks by feeding on Caribbean monk seals. The seals were said to be very unaggressive and sensitive to disturbance, both of which were probably also factors in the species' demise. |
| Since 1964 there have been several sightings by fishermen and others of
a seal-like animal in Puerto Rican waters, along the north coast of Haiti, along the coast
of the Dominican Republic, and in the eastern Bahamas, the most recent sighting being in
1984. This has led some to believe that remnants of the population may exist but most
scientists believe that this is not the case. A 6,377km aerial survey of the former range
of the seal in 1973 provided no sightings or evidence of the presence of Caribbean monk
seals and similar searches, such as one carried out in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican
Caribbean in 1984, have also proved unsuccessful. The species is listed as Extinct on the IUCN Red
List and as an Appendix I species under CITES. |
| Lifestyle and appearance Caribbean monk seal pups were born about the beginning of December, possessing a black fur coat like pups of the other monk seal species and probably measuring about a metre in length. The adults were greyish-brown, females slightly darker, with a yellowish colour underneath and on the muzzle, similar in appearance to the closely-related Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi). Their main predators were sharks. The Caribbean monk seal was about 2-2.4m in length and weighed about 160kg. |
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