Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 85, January 2009, pp. 1-20. | Page 16

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the Northern Sporades Islands and northern Karpathos in Greece; on the Aegean and
Mediterranean coasts of Turkey, and along the Côte des Phoques (Cabo Blanco) in the
Western Sahara (Arab Democratic Republic of the Sahara).
Taking into consideration the feeding and breeding movements of monk seals between
remnant colonies, a consensus of scientific opinion believes that a network of wellmanaged and guarded reserves are essential for the survival of the species.
Although proposed on a number of occasions, ex situ conservation measures – such as
captive breeding and translocation – have been abandoned in the face of concerted
opposition from the international monk seal scientific and conservation communities. So
sensitive is the monk seal to human disturbance that ex situ schemes of this kind are
viewed in some quarters as an additional threat to the species. Monachus monachus has
never been known to breed successfully in captivity. Scientists also question whether
there is any single colony large enough to withstand the removal of donor animals for
the purposes of translocation or captive breeding without jeopardising its own viability.

References and Internet Websites:
Androukaki, E.; S. Adamantopoulou, P. Dendrinos, E. Tounta and S. Kotomatas (1999).
Causes of Mortality in the Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) in Greece.
Contributions to the Zoology & Ecology of the Eastern Mediterranean Region 1 (1999):
405-411.
Animal Info - Mediterranean Monk Seal.
http://www.animalinfo.org/species/carnivor/monamona.htm
Arkive (2006).http://www.arkive.org/
Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R.P. and A.P. Russell (1996). A morphological perspective on the
phylogenetic relationships of the extant phocid seals (Mammalia: Carnivora: Phocidae).
In: Bonner zoologische Monographien 1996, Bd. 4.
Bonner, Nigel (1994). Seals and Sea Lions of the World. Facts on File, 1994. ISBN
0816029555.
Güçlüsoy, Harun and Yalçın Savaş (2003). Status of the Mediterranean Monk Seal,
Monachus monachus, in the Foça Pilot Monk Seal Conservation Area, Turkey. Zoology
in the Middle East 28, 2003: 5-16. http://www.kasparek-verlag.de/ZME-Abstracts28.htm
Israëls, L.D.E. (1992). Thirty years of Mediterranean monk seal protection – a review.
Mededelingen 28: 1-65.
Johnson, William M. (2005). In echoes of the past, the sound of the present. The
Monachus Guardian 8(1): May 2005. http://www.iridescentpublishing.com/ms_ant/ms_ant_auth.htm
Johnson, W.M. (2004). Monk seals in post-classical history. The role of the
Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in European history and culture, from
the fall of Rome to the 20th century. Mededelingen 39. Netherlands Commission for
International Nature Protection, Leiden: 1-91, 31 figs.
Johnson, William M. The Monk Seal Conspiracy. 3. Oracle of a Dying Sea.
http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/msc/msc03.htm

Gazelle – Number 85 – January 2009