One of the most encouraging stories emerging from the Mediterranean is unfolding along Italy’s coastline, where the Mediterranean monk seal is appearing again in waters from which it had largely disappeared for generations.
Once considered probably extinct as a resident species in Italy, Monachus monachus is now being detected repeatedly through direct sightings, photographs, videos and environmental DNA. The broader Mediterranean population remains small – estimates generally place it below 1,000 animals worldwide – but its conservation status has improved.
