There have been no sightings in the Black Sea during the past five years. Recently at least two Monk Seals have been sighted on the coast of Sardinia near Cagliari the first confirmed record for Sardinia since the last century. SIZE Length of males 2.41m. Length of females 2.38m. Formerly spread throughout the Mediterranean Sea, north west coast of Africa and the Black Sea.
Disturbances are especially detrimental during the pupping season.
Most recently a controversial French plan to breed Monk Seals in captivity has halted because the Moroccan Government refused to allow the removal of six seal pups to be taken from Cap Blanc in Western Sahara to Marineland, a commercial sea mammal centre in southern France. The Bellerive Foundation, a Geneva-based conservation group, argue that seals could be harmed or killed during the capture operation, and any disturbance to the colony may affect breeding. The Mediterranean Monk Seal is listed as Endangered in the 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals . Monk seals in Italy. Kenyon, K.W. 1981.