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Seals, Another Name of the Endangered List

By admin ⋅ January 13, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ 220 views

Protected since Ancient Greece by Poseidon and Apollo for their love of the sun and sea, the number of seals is rapidly declining, most of them living miserably or under a constant threat. The low numbers are mainly due to fishermen, that killed them simply so they cannot feed on fish, or to people hunting them for food and pelts. While hunting has wiped out the majority of the seal colonies, the biggest dangeris the presence of humans in Monk Seal feeding and breeding grounds. Industrial fishing caused the fish stocks existing in our seas have reduced to 10% of the original. Hance less and less remain for local fishermen, seals, dolphins and other sea dwellers.

Out of the 3 species of Monk Seals, 1,300 Hawaiian Monk Seals left; Mediterranean Monk Seals number 500 in the wild; and the Caribbean Monk Seal was declared extinct in 1922. Population decline has caused some of these seals to compete in a destructive manner: few females provoke overly aggressive mating behaviour in males, sometimes killing the female in the competition.

The females that do survive have no isolated space to birth and rear their young during the critical the first six weeks of life. The pups are pushed into the ocean prematurely, lacking the skills the skills to outswim sharks and other predators. Being sensitive to disturbance, some females abort pregnancy when surprised by motorized boats.

Conservation efforts focus on preserving safe areas for breeding. They do not cope well with captivity so maintaining protected beaches, keeping them clear of pollution, fishing boats and humans is the key to bringing back the seals. These efforts start with little gestures and lead to concentrated efforts from many socieities. For example, in the Mediterranean a ban on all fishing - except for traditional, non-motorized activities by local communities - has been iplemented along certain coastlines.

Due to these developments, the animals will soon need a larger habitat and therefore enlargement of the protected area is planned. A lot still has to be done, but without active support and financial aid, many projects will not take form.

Tags: baby seal, endangered, extinction, seals