Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 133, January 2016, pp. 1-29. | Page 9

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Seal Research Group (Turkish: Akdeniz Foklarını Araştırma Grubu) operating
under the Underwater Research Foundation (Turkish: Sualtı Araştırmaları
Derneği) in Turkey (also known as SAD-AFAG). The group has taken initiative in
joint preservation efforts together with the Foça municipal officials, as well as
phone, fax, and email hotlines for sightings (Wikipedia).
Preservation of the species requires both the preservation of land and sea, due to
the need for terrestrial haul-out sites and caves or caverns for the animal to rest
and reproduce. Even though responsible scuba diving instructors hesitate to
make trips to known seal caves, the rumor of a seal sighting quickly becomes a
tourist attraction for many. Irresponsible scuba diving trips scare the seals away
from caves which could become habitation for the species (Wikipedia).

The hind flippers of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus, Hermann 1779)
at the Paulus-Haus Museum – Deutscher Verein vom Heiligen Lande in Al-Quds
(Jerusalem), Occupied Palestine. Photo: Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Khalaf-von
Jaffa. 23.07.2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/15379336286/

Conservation
Under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals
(CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, the Memorandum of Understanding
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 133 – January 2016