Monk Seal - description, habitat, lifestyle

Seals are distinguished by white skin from birth, over the life cycle and maturation, respectively, the skin darkens. Under them are meant medium-sized individuals, which in general there are quite a lot.

Special features

1. Under seals are meant representatives of the sea lion family. Otherwise discussed individuals are called real or eared seals. Limbs are flippers, hind legs are equipped with claws and are located away from the body.
2. According to some information, eared-type seals appeared as derivatives of bear-like primitive creatures. And the real ones came from the marten of the primitives. The last representatives of the species are not endowed with auricles. Their flippers are strong and strong, allow you to quickly move in the aquatic environment.
3. Eared seals, being on land, wield their flippers very well.With the hind limbs, they steer and set the course, basically they serve as a balance weight and simply drag along the ground.

Description

1. Monks are characterized by some distinctive features. Their head has powerful cheekbones, which are clearly visible. Especially the older generation. The nose of the animals is wide and set apart. The processes of the nasal compartment do not have the features to insert between the bones of the upper jaw and the nasal bones. The front section of the nose has several protrusions, between which there is a hole.
2. The palate is an arcuate area, which is equipped with an angular cut. A distinctive feature of the specimens of the species under discussion is considered to be a powerful developed lower jaw. This feature can not boast of other species. Processes are also present before the eyes. The hearing aid is medium in size and has a triangle format.
3. The passages in the hearing aid are straightened, they do not bend at a right angle. The teeth are pressed tightly to each other, they are identical in size features, do not have protrusions.Virtually every tooth in the series has several roots. As for the incisors, they are dense, with one root. The fins are in the back, deep, wide, with cutouts. Claws are small, almost no role.
4. The front flippers are distinguished by the presence of a large and long curved finger. All the others gradually decrease, the fifth and at all small. Claws are thick, sharp, wide, help to climb on a hard surface.
5. As for the fur, it is smooth and stiff, has a water-repellent oily lubricant at the base. Wool tight to the body. Mustache smooth and long. The pigmentation of individuals of the presented species is gray, dark, can be brown-black. Abdominal section lightened. On the hull of the individual monks stretched up to 2.4 m.

Spread

1. Animals live in the Black Sea, they were quite a lot in these waters until the end of the last century. Individuals prefer to dwell in flocks, rather than alone. They are found in the Crimea to the present day, in the southwest. Also, many members of the family in the waters of Bulgaria, they are suitable local climatic conditions. Reproduction is carried out on Burgas and Kaliakra,the number is constantly increasing.
2. It is very rare to find individuals of this genus in Romania, where they live preferably one at a time. Some of the seals are in Turkey, the rest of the population is dispersed along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The seals of this species like the African and Atlantic coasts. Some individuals still live on the island of Samos, which is located in Greece.
3. Also, a small number of goals are met on the island of Montecristo, Italy. Of course, it is impossible not to affect the presence of seals in Tunisia and on the island of Madeira. The last conversion of the heads showed that there are about 1.5 thousand heads of these seals. Data is currently unknown. It is also not clear how much is in the Crimea.
4. For example, off the coast of Bulgaria, the individuals in question are protected by law. The sad thing is that the number of such animals does not increase. Near Cape Kaliara, the number of individuals is approximately 30 heads.
5. On the territory of the former USSR, the number of seals began to decline strongly, then disappeared altogether. The main reason for this was the anthropogenic impact.In addition, several decades ago, people massively exterminated such animals.

Nutrition

1. The basis of the diet of the individuals in question is mainly fish. In this case, seals do not favor any particular species. Therefore, the animal is content with the catch that he could catch. However, in order to maintain a high body weight, it is best for seals to hunt large fish.
2. Such animals are lucky when they run into huge shoals of big fish. It often happens that fish flocks do not tend to come close to the shore in the amount that is necessary for the individuals in question. In this case, the seals may chase their prey upriver.
3. For example, if you look at the seal congeners, largs, then with the onset of summer, such animals begin to feed on fish, which descend into the sea along various river tributaries. After this, individuals try to feed mainly on cape-trees. It is this fish that most often sails to the shore during spawning.
4. Each year, seals also hunt salmon and herring en masse.Only in the warm period the considered individuals can eat such fish. In any case, both herring and salmon tend to spawn. It is worth noting that it is in the cold season that seals have much more difficult.
5. Presented animals have to move away from the coast from time to time. They try to keep close on the drifting ice floes. In this case, mollusks, pollock and octopuses may form the basis of the diet. In any case, if a seal notices another fish, it will not swim past it.

Breeding

1. It is noteworthy that, regardless of the species, these animals reproduce offspring only 1 time per year. Often this happens at the end of the summer season. With the onset of the mating season, the individuals in question begin to form simply giant rookeries.
2. It can be either on the mainland or on a huge drifting ice floe. In each rookery there may be several thousand individuals. In most cases, seals form monogamous pairs. They stay together until the end of life. However, elephant seals follow polygamous relationships.
3. As a rule, mating in such animals most often occurs in the middle of winter.After this, females begin to bear babies for 9–11 months. Then the baby is born immediately weighing about 30 kg. The length of his body is about 1 m. For about 3 weeks the young feed on maternal milk.

These individuals previously belonged to walruses, later they were ranked as a separate category. Pinnipeds are distinguished by their ability to stay in cold water for a long time. Today we looked at everything connected with them.

Video: Monk Seal (Monachus monachus)