Distribution of Monk Seal
The monk seals' range once included the entire Mediterranean Sea, parts of the Black Sea and Atlantic coasts up to Cape Verde Islands. Up until the early 20th century the Canary Islands were also home to the monk seals. Today there are two main populations: one lives in the waters of Greece and Turkey, the other population covers the Atlantic coastal waters off Mauritania and the Western Sahara.
Closely related to the Mediterranean monk seal are the Hawaiian monk seal in the Pacific with a remaining population of 1000, and the Caribbean monk seal which went extinct in the mid-20th century as a result of persecution. The Mediterranean monk seal may face a similar fate as its population is estimated to be a mere 300 to 400 individuals. This makes the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) Europe's rarest mammal and one of the most threatened species on earth.
