Sept 2021—On Friday September 24th, not even a week after the appearance of the first baby monk seal, a second baby Mediterranean monk seal of the protected species Monachus-monachus was found. This time it was in a remote area of Aegiali and appeared very weak. A French man who lives in Amorgos spotted it and, realizing that something was wrong, immediately contacted us for help.
We in turn reached out to Dimitris Synodinos, owner of the Amorgos Diving Center, as he would have the means to approach the beach. Soon the experts from MOm (an organization dedicated to the study and protection of Monachus-monachus) saw that it needed immediate care. Volunteers from the Amorgos Diving Center went out to the spot with additional equipment and brought the baby seal in safely.
Our program coordinator Litsa Passari and the volunteer Chariklia Psaki transported the baby back to AZI's Center. They immediately came in contact with the local vet and in cooperation with the expert from MOm provided first aid. The baby was a girl, a little bit older than the first one found at the port of Katapola, but she was in a very bad state, showing signs of difficulty in breathing and clearly very weak. It was decided that she needed to go to Athens, to the facilities of MOm, where their specialists could offer her more intense care which she required. So someone stayed by her side all night, monitoring her, and early in the morning she was placed on the boat to Piraeus where the volunteers from MOm were waiting to take her.
But unfortunately and with sad hearts we must report that she died on the trip to Piraeus. An autopsy performed showed she in a very advanced stage of pneumonia. The vets at MOm said that even had she made it to their facility there was no chance for survival as the pneumonia had already progressed too far.We had hoped she would recover and return to the sea where she belonged but she flew instead to the sky. But we feel blessed because for a few hours we were touched by this precious treasure of the Greek seas which we are determined to protect in every way.
The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus-monachus is the rarest seal on Earth. With a estimated population of less than 600 in the world, it is one of the rarest and most endangered animal species on the planet and is characterized as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. About half of the population, around 250-300 seals, live in Greece. The fact that the largest population of these endangered seals lives and reproduces in Greece make our responsibility for their conservation and protection against the dangers they face a responsibility we take seriously.
We want to warmly thank MOm for all its support, guidance and cooperation and for the fact that they are the guardian angels of the Mediterranean seal in Greece—they do an incredible job. We also want to thank Philippe P., who spotted the baby and recognized it needed help. As well we thank the Amorgos Diving Center (Dimitris Synodinos, Iakovos Vlavianos and all the rest team) for taking immediate action and helped to transfer the baby to us. Finally thanks go to all the volunteers who helped and offered their time and support.
