The cute whiskers are back on. Rare Mediterranean monk seals are cared for in a Greek rehab center

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Panagis hauls himself retired of the excavation astatine a rehabilitation halfway successful Greece and scurries implicit for a delectable lunch: full mackerel. It’s been astir 3 months since the orphaned seal pup was recovered struggling successful the coastal waters of Cyprus. Soon, he’ll beryllium good capable to spell home.

Panagis is 1 of dozens of Mediterranean monk seals, oregon Monachus monachus, that person been nursed backmost to wellness by Greece’s MOm, a foundation dedicated to the attraction and extortion of the uncommon marine mammal whose colonisation had dwindled truthful dramatically that astatine 1 constituent it faced extinction.

Thanks to conservation efforts, the seals with the big, circular eyes and salient whiskers are present making a singular comeback. Nearly fractional of their estimated planetary colonisation of 800 unrecorded successful Greek waters, wherever the extended coastline offers an abundance of oversea caves that supply structure for females to rear their young.

From adjacent extinction to recovery

Sleek and remarkably accelerated successful the water, the monk seal is simply a skillful huntsman and tin devour up to 3 kilograms (6 pounds) of fish, octopus and squid a day. But it's not averse to a acceptable meal, and tin rip done sportfishing nets to bargain food — which led fishermen to presumption them arsenic pests.

For decades, they were hunted, contributing to a large colonisation diminution betwixt the 1960s and 1980s that led the International Union for Conservation of Nature, oregon IUCN, to database them arsenic critically endangered.

When conservation efforts began successful the 1980s, combined with outreach programs to amended the nationalist — and fishermen — “society gradually began to alteration … and the colonisation began to recover,” said Panagiotis Dendrinos.

Dendrinos, a marine biologist and coordinator of the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal — oregon MOm — that has pioneered the Monachus monachus conservation program, says the monk seal is the lone seal taxon successful the Mediterranean Sea and besides "one of the rarest taxon of seal and marine mammal successful the world.”

“To support an carnal similar the Mediterranean monk seal successful its earthy environment, you fundamentally person to support the full marine ecosystem,” helium said.

Conservation efforts person paid off, and successful caller years, the taxon climbed down a notch connected the IUCN’s Red List of threatened taxon to “endangered.” About a twelvemonth agone improved 1 measurement further, to “vulnerable.”

A unsocial seal rehab

Usually contacted by members of the nationalist who find an carnal successful distress, MOm specialists thin to big seals connected determination wherever possible, and transport young seals to the organization's rehabilitation halfway housed successful the grounds of Athens zoo, connected the outskirts of the Greek capital.

There, the young mammals are looked aft by veterinarians, fed a peculiar fare to supply them with the champion nutrition and hone their swimming skills successful a pool.

Their carers springiness them names — often aft the radical who recovered them — but marque definite interaction with humans is kept to a minimum to hole the animals for their instrumentality into the wild.

The young seals typically enactment successful the rehab halfway for respective months, until they've enactment connected capable value and their earthy hunting instinct kicks in, allowing them to fend for themselves. They are past tagged truthful they tin beryllium tracked, and re-introduced into the wild.

MOm, the lone halfway of its benignant successful the region, has cared for astir 40 seals from acold and wide, some connected determination and successful its facilities, Dendrinos said.

“This year, we had a truly pleasant surprise,” helium said. A pistillate seal that had been treated and released 4 years agone was spotted nursing a pup.

Planes, boats and cars to the rescue

Panagis was recovered successful Cyprus, adjacent wherever the assemblage of his parent had been recovered a fewer days earlier. Alerted by locals, the enactment arranged for the seal to beryllium flown to Athens.

“Transportation is carried retired with immoderate is available,” said veterinary adjunct Nikitas Vogiatzis, soon aft feeding Panagis. “Either by plane, oregon by boat, oregon adjacent by taxi. "Konstantina came successful a taxi, Panagis by plane, Renos came connected a boat,” helium said, listing MOm’s astir caller wards.

Weighing conscionable nether 15 kilograms (33 pounds) erstwhile helium arrived, the present 3-month-old seal has reached implicit 40 kilograms (88 pounds). Panagis is astir acceptable for his instrumentality travel home, which MOm experts anticipation volition hap successful May.

Back into the wild

Renos — abbreviated for Renos-Pantelis — was recovered successful November successful the tiny Aegean land of Anafi by a caregiver and a subject conscript whom helium was named after.

The seal pup was shipped to MOm’s facility. He got aesculapian attraction and was enactment connected a peculiar fare until helium was aged capable to determination connected to coagulated food — the mackerel that Panagis is truthful fond of.

He recovered and connected a cold, sunny February day, it was his crook to caput backmost into the wild. MOm unit loaded him into a crate and whisked him by speedboat to the uninhabited islet of Gyaros, the closest marine protected country to Athens.

The merchandise determination is chosen “based connected determination being capable food, and determination being nary disturbance by people, which is precise important,” said Vogiatzis, the veterinary assistant.

The crate is placed adjacent the water, helium said. Then, "you unfastened the door, you accidental a supplication and you say: ‘So long’.”

Renos’ crate was deposited connected a formation and the doorway opened. The young seal sniffed the aerial timidly, and waited. Slowly, helium inched his mode retired of the crate, past picked up velocity arsenic helium belly-hauled his mode down the beach, splashed into the oversea and was gone.

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Associated Press lensman Thanassis Stavrakis successful Gyaros, Greece, contributed to this report.