Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 85, January 2009, pp. 1-20. | Page 3

3

History and Exploitation
In ancient Greece, Nature was safeguarded by deep religious faith, not legislation. Earth
was venerated as the „oldest of the gods‟, Gaia, the mother of all. Monk seals were placed
under the protection of Poseidon and Apollo because they showed a great love for sea
and sun, and the killing of a seal or dolphin was often regarded as a sacrilege. One of the
first coins, minted around 500 BC, depicted the head of a monk seal, and the creatures
were immortalized in the writings of Homer, Plutarch and Aristotle. To fishermen and
seafarers, catching sight of the animals frolicking in the waves or loafing on the beaches
was considered to be an omen of good fortune.

Detail from a Caeretan hydria (water jug), c. 520-510 BC.

For the following two thousand years the monk seal had the protection of no god or
human law. The seals lived in large herds, throughout the Mediterranean, the Marmara
and Black seas, as well as the north-west Atlantic coast of Africa. From prehistoric times
until the early 19th century, humans hunted seals for the basic necessities of their own
survival – fur, oil and meat – but did not kill them in large enough numbers to endanger
their existence as a species. The pelts were used to make boats and tents and were said to
give protection against Nature‟s more hostile elements, especially lightning. The skins
were also made into shoes and clothing, and the fat used for oil lamps and tallow
candles, and the fat was also used to treat wounds and contusions in both humans and
domestic animals. Because the animal was known to sleep so soundly, the right flipper
of a seal, placed under the pillow, was thought to cure insomnia.

Gazelle – Numbe Ȁ