Caribbean monk seal

The Caribbean monk seal (Neomonachus tropicalis), also known as the West Indian seal or sea wolf, was a type of seal that lived in the Caribbean. It had few natural enemies, mostly American crocodiles, large sharks like great whites and tiger sharks, and possibly orcas. But humans became its biggest threat.

People hunted these seals for their oil and meat. They also caught too many of the foods the seals ate. This likely caused the seals to disappear. The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952, at Serranilla Bank, near Jamaica and Nicaragua.

In 2008, after searching for five years, the United States officially declared the Caribbean monk seal extinct. This declaration was made by the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Caribbean monk seal was closely related to the Hawaiian monk seal, which still lives around the Hawaiian Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean monk seal, found mainly near Greece.

Description

Caribbean monk seals were large seals that could grow up to nearly 2.4 metres long and weigh between 170 to 270 kilograms. They had a rounded head with a long, broad nose, big eyes, and long whiskers. Their bodies were brownish or grayish, with younger seals looking paler and more yellowish. These seals often had algae growing on their fur, giving them a slight greenish look.

Behavior and ecology

The Caribbean monk seal liked to rest on land in big groups. These groups could have about 20 to 40 seals, and sometimes even up to 100. The seals mostly ate fish and creatures with shells.

Like other true seals, the Caribbean monk seal moved slowly on land. They were not afraid of humans and were curious.

Reproduction and longevity

Caribbean monk seals had baby seals when they were old enough, which is normal for seals in warm places. In Mexico, most baby seals were born in early December. They had four special nipples to feed their babies. Newborn baby seals were about 1 metre long and weighed between 16 and 18 kilograms. They were born with a smooth, black coat. These seals likely lived for about twenty years.

The Caribbean monk seal nasal mite lived only inside the seal’s nose and disappeared when the seals did.

Habitat

Caribbean monk seals lived in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the western Atlantic Ocean. They liked to rest on quiet, sandy beaches on small islands but sometimes went near the mainland or into deeper waters. These seals probably ate in shallow lagoons and near reefs.

Relationship with humans

People first saw the Caribbean monk seal in 1494 when Christopher Columbus and his crew found seals on a beach. For many years after that, people hunted these seals for their oil and meat. By the 1800s, so many seals were killed that they became very rare.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, scientists wanted to study the seals, but they were hard to find. The hunting continued until the seals likely disappeared. By 1967, they were listed as endangered, but they may have already gone extinct. Some people say they still see seals today, but scientists think these might be other kinds of seals.