The Mediterranean monk seal can be found in the Mediterranean Sea off of
Croatia,
Cyprus,
Greece, and
Turkey, as well as the
North Atlantic Ocean off of
Mauritania and
Western Sahara. but the last report of a seal in the
Black Sea dates to 1997. Nowadays, its entire population is estimated to be less than 700 individuals widely scattered, which qualifies this species as endangered. Its current very sparse population is one more serious threat to the species, as it only has two key sites that can be deemed viable. One is the
Aegean Sea (250–300 animals in Greece, with the largest concentration of animals in
Gyaros island, These two key sites are virtually in the extreme opposites of the species' distribution range, which makes natural population interchange between them impossible. All the other remaining subpopulations are composed of less than 50 mature individuals, many of them being only loose groups of extremely reduced size – often less than five individuals.
Sardinia, and other western Mediterranean locations, including Gibraltar. In
Sardinia the Mediterranean monk seal was last sighted in May 2007 and April 2010. The increase of sightings in Sardinia suggests that the seal occasionally inhabits the Central Eastern Sardinian coasts, preserved since 1998 by the
National Park of Golfo of Orosei. Colonies on the
Pelagian Islands (
Linosa and
Lampedusa) were destroyed by fishermen, which likely resulted in local extinction.
Cabo Blanco 1997 die off and recovery Cabo Blanco, in the Atlantic Ocean, is the largest surviving single population of the species, and the only remaining site that still seems to preserve a colony structure. Only by 2016 the colony had recovered to its previous population (about 300 animals). This was made possible by a recovery plan financed by Spain. Also in 2016, a new record of births was set for the colony (83 pups).
Recent sightings in September 2012, possibly the first record in the
Strait of Gibraltar , Greece , Greece In June 2009, there was a report of a sighting off the island of
Giglio, in Italy. On 7 January 2010, fishermen spotted an injured Mediterranean monk seal off the coasts of
Tel Aviv, Israel. When zoo veterinarians arrived to help the seal, it had slipped back into the waters. Members of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center arrived at the scene and tried to locate the injured mammal, but with no success. This was the first sighting of the species in the region since Lebanese authorities claimed to have found a population of 10–20 other seals on their coasts 70 years earlier. In addition, the seal was also sighted a couple of weeks later in the northern kibbutz of
Rosh Hanikra. In April 2010, there was a report of a sighting off the island of
Marettimo, in the
Egadi Islands off the coast of
Italy, in
Trapani Province. In November 2010, a Mediterranean monk seal, supposedly aged between 10 and 20, had been spotted in
Bodrum, Turkey. On 31 December 2010, the BBC Earth news reported that the MOM Hellenic Society had located a new colony of seals on a remote beach in the Aegean Sea. The exact location was not communicated so as to keep the site protected. The society was appealing to the Greek government to integrate the part of the island on which the seals live into a
marine protected area. On 8 March 2011, the BBC Earth news reported that a pup seal had been spotted on 7 February while monitoring a seal colony on an island in the southwestern Aegean Sea. Soon after, it showed signs of weakness and it was taken to a rehabilitation centre to try to save it. The aim is to release it back into the wild as soon as it is strong enough. In April 2011, a monk seal was spotted near the
Egyptian coast after long absence of the species from the nation. On 24 June 2011, the Blue World Institute of Croatia filmed an adult female underwater in the northern Adriatic, off the island of
Cres and a specimen of unverified sex on 29 June 2012. On 2 May 2013 a specimen was seen on the southernmost point of
Istrian peninsula near the town of
Pula. On 9 September 2013, in
Pula a male specimen swam to a busy beach and entertained numerous tourists for five minutes before swimming back to the open sea. In summer 2014 sightings in Pula have occurred almost daily and monk seal stayed multiple times on crowded city beaches, sleeping calm for hours just few meters away from humans. To prevent accidents and preserve monk seal, local city council acquired special educational boards and installed on city beaches. Despite clear instructions, an incident occurred with a tourist harassing a seal. The whole event was filmed. Less than a month later on 25 August 2014 this female monk seal was found dead in the Mrtvi Puć bay near
Šišan, Croatia. Experts said it was natural death caused by her old age. File:Billy monk seal 2.jpg|
Alonnisos Marine Park,
Greece File:Monachus monachus DSC 0057.jpg|A few days before she died in the Mrtvi Puć Bay near Šišan, Croatia In 2012, a Mediterranean monk seal, was spotted in Gibraltar on the jetty of the private boat owners club at
Coaling Island. In the week of 22–28 April 2013, what is believed to have been a monk seal was viewed in Tyre, southern Lebanon; photographs have been reported among many local media. A study by the Italian Ministry of the Environment in 2013 confirmed the presence of monk seals in marine protected area in the
Egadi Islands. In September and October 2013, there were a number of sightings of an adult pair in waters around
RAF Akrotiri in British Sovereign Base waters in Cyprus. In November 2014, an adult monk seal was reportedly seen inside the port of
Limassol, Cyprus. A female monk seal, called Argyro by the locals, was repeatedly seen on beaches of
Samos island in 2014 and 2015, and two were reported in April 2016. In 2017, Argyro was shot and killed. On 7 April 2015, a large floating "fish" was reported near Raouche,
Beirut in
Lebanon, and collected by a local fisherman. This turned out to be the body of a female monk seal known to have been resident there for some time. Further investigations revealed that she was pregnant with a pup. On 13 August 2015, ten monk seals were spotted in
Governor's Beach, Limassol, Cyprus. On 6 January 2016, a monk seal climbed aboard a parked boat in
Kuşadası. On 10 April 2016, a monk seal was spotted and photographed by a group of foreign exchange students and local bio-engineers in a creek in
Manavgat District in
Turkey's southern
Antalya Province. According to the scientists involved in local projects to protect the animals, this was the first ever documented sighting of a monk seal swimming in a river. Possible reasons for the animal's appearance included better opportunities for hunting, as well as higher salinity levels due to lower water levels. On 26 April 2016, two monk seals were spotted at the municipal baths area of
Paphos, Cyprus. On 3 November 2016, a monk seal was spotted at the coast of
Gialousa in
Cyprus. On 13 June 2017, a specimen was spotted and photographed by a group of fishermen off the coasts of
Tricase in the south of Italy. In early 2018 a mother and her pup were spotted around
Paphos Harbour in
Cyprus. In November 2018, a young monk seal was spotted at the coast of
Karavostasi in
Cyprus, only to be found dead at the same area a few days later. On 15 March 2019, a monk seal was spotted and photographed by a group of citizens at a marina in
Kuşadası. On 20 July 2019, a monk seal was spotted in Protaras bay area in
Cyprus. On 27 January 2020, a young monk seal was recovered dead from Torre San Gennaro in Apulia. On 15 December 2020, a monk seal was spotted and videotaped while seated on a
sunlounger in Samos Island, Greece. On 24 July 2021, a previously rescued and rehabilitated monk seal nicknamed "Kostis" was found dead in the waters of the Cycladic islands. MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal reported that the seal had been executed at close range with a spear gun. Additionally, MOm pledged a €18,000 bounty for any evidence that "will lead to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the killing of the seal, known as Kostis." On 24 April 2023, a large monk seal was spotted at Korakonisi, Zakynthos in Greece. It stayed on the surface for around a minute observing onlookers and then dived and was not seen again on that day. On 12 May 2023, a healthy adult female monk seal was observed and photographed resting for at least a few hours on the beach in Jaffa near Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel's Nature and Park Authority has been monitoring since then this seal dubbed "Yulia", estimated at twenty years of age, spotted by eastern Mediterranean researchers in recent years in Turkey and Lebanon, where she is known as "Tugra". International consultation assessed that she is in normal
molt to shed her winter coat, mostly relaxing on the section of beach that has been fenced off for her, and occasionally going into the water. On 5 July 2024, a monk seal was spotted in Malta after an absence of 30 years. ==Preservation==