PRELIMINARY REPORT OF A STRANDING CASE OF MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL MONACHUS MONACHUS(HERMANN, 1779) ON ANTALYA COAST, TURKEY, APRIL 2013

Preliminary report of a stranding case of Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus(Hermann, 1779) on Antalya coast, Turkey, April 2013

Erdem Danyer, Elif Özgür Özbek, Işıl Aytemiz, Arda M. Tonay

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul University, 34320, Avcılar, Istanbul, TURKEY
Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), P. O. Box: 10, Beykoz, Istanbul, TURKEY
Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, 07120, Antalya, TURKEY
Faculty of Fisheries, Istanbul University, Ordu St., No. 200, 34470, Laleli, Istanbul, TURKEY

Abstract

The Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779), which lives on the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea coast of Turkey, is one of the critically endangered species in the world. On 30 April 2013, an adult male monk seal was found dead on the coast of Antalya. Evidence of deliberate killing was found as a result of gross necropsy carried out after two days. This paper summarizes the preliminary findings of the gross necropsy.

Keywords: Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus, deliberate killing

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