A rare monk seal was spotted and photographed in Haifa and Rosh Hankara (this is not a dream, friends, but news - true!)
Great excitement gripped the people of Makhmalyi (Center for Information Research and Assistance to Marine Mammals in Israel) last Tuesday when Albert Pinchas, director of the pecking website, reported a seal in Rosh HaNakra. This is the third sighting of a seal in Rosh HaNakra in the last month and a half.
After long observations and quite a bit of logistics, researchers from the Israel Defense Forces managed to "capture" the seal on the camera lens. The photos were able to confirm that it is Maya - the same monk seal familiar to them from recent years, which was first spotted in Herzliya, in January 2010.
One of the people of Makhmal'i told Lahi Pa: "Since June 2014, Maya has been documented by the army several times in Rosh Hankara, but in the last two years her traces disappeared, and our researchers even started to worry about her well-being... After an absence of two years, we were especially happy to identify her today."
About the monk seal - one of the rarest marine mammals in the world
The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus It is one of the rarest marine mammals in the world. It is in danger of extinction and the estimates are that its population numbers only about 450 mature individuals. It was the massive hunting of seals for meat and blubber in the last century that led to the steep decline in the monk seal population. In recent decades, human interference with the seals' habitat (caves and rocky ravines), a decrease in the amount of fish (their main food) and capture in fishing nets have brought the population of this species to the brink of extinction. In Israel, the monk seal probably became extinct in the 30s. The observations from the last few years give rise to hope that perhaps the environmental conditions that have improved in the area of the Rosh Hankara Marine Nature Reserve represent a chance for the recovery of the species in our region.
Princess Maya's visit to Bat Galim Bay
Last Thursday, the excitement increased, following reports and photographs of the mermaid Maya in Haifa! The first sighting, by Aviv Rosen, was around 17:30 in Haifa Bay, in front of Bat Galim beach. About an hour later, Maya was seen by a group of fishermen, near the beach of Shekmona. Maya's swimming direction was south.
The observation of Maya the monk seal here with us in Bat Galim Bay and the marine reserve that is located is especially exciting. She joins the observations on the many marine natural values in our region: brown and green sea turtles, sea cats, unique algae mats and sponge gardens and points out the uniqueness of the bay area and the underwater Carmel Ridge for marine animals. A large marine nature reserve "Yam Rosh Carmel" promoted these days by the Nature and Parks Authority will be a safe haven and a guarantee of their continued existence.
Have you seen a seal too? Maybe you saw Maya? Please report, in real time, to Mihmal'i at this link:
The home page of Mahmali - report
And of course bye here and we will handle the information in a professional manner, as usual:
We at Hai Pa thank, from the bottom of our hearts, the people of Makhmal'i who helped in the preparation of the article: Dr. Aviad Sheinin, Dr. Mia Elser, Dr. Oz Gofman, Miri Kalpa The organization's spokeswoman.