Mediterranean Monk Seal
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Mediterranean Monk Seal | Nexon Game |
Mediterranean Monk Seal is a type of Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.
Series Appearances
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In Real Life
The Mediterranean Monk Seal, is found around the Mediterranean Sea region and the Northwest African Coast. There are populations that are located in Mauritania/Western Sahara, Greece, and Turkey. Small numbers have also been seen in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, the Portuguese Desertas Islands, Croatia, and Cyprus.
Mediterranean monk seals are usually found along coastal waters, especially on the coastlines of islands. They are sometimes found in caves with submarine entrances when the female is giving birth and just to get away from other disturbances, such as boats.
Mediterranean monk seals mate during the months of September-November. Mating usually takes place in the water. They reproduce very slowly starting at the age of 4. The time between births is 13 months, and the gestation period is 11 months. Pups are born about 80-100 cm long and weigh 17-24 kg. Sexual maturity is reached at about 4-6 years of age.
When females give birth, they go on the beach or in caves. A female will usually remain on the beach or in the cave nursing and protecting the pup for up to six weeks. During this time, the female must live off of stored fat because she never leaves the pup, not even to feed herself. The pup may remain with its mother for as long as 3 years even after weaning.
The Mediterranean monk seal spends most of its time in a limited range; they don't migrate long distances. There can be up to 20 individuals in a colony of Mediterranean monk seals. On land, the seal is a solitary species. In the water, they are very good divers and swimmers. They swim so well that they can outmaneuver a shark.
Mediterranean monk seals are diurnal. They feed in shallow coastal waters on a large variety of fish. This includes eels, sardines, tuna, lobsters, flatfish, and mullets. They also feed on cephalopods such as octopuses.
Fewer than 500 individuals of Mediterranean monk seals remain in the world today. They have been killed by fisherman who see them as competition, and many have been lost due to being caught in fishermans' nets. Pollution and boat traffic are also a problem for this species. Pollution comes mainly from human waste. This waste gets into the water in which the seals live and into the food that they eat. The problem with boat traffic is from a lot of boats being in the same area that the seals occupy, resulting at worst in collisions between seals and boats.
Trivia
- This seal is one of the world's rarest mammals, and it is on the list of the 20 most endangered species.