It may seem strange to imagine seals hanging out on the beaches of Florida, but not so long ago, they once did.
The Caribbean monk seal was officially listed as extinct in 2008, after an exhaustive 5-year search. However, they were likely gone from this earth decades earlier.
These seals were long and robust, growing up to 8 ft in length, with a distinctive round head; large, wide-spaced eyes; big whisker pads and smooth, light-colored whiskers. Compared to their body, they had short foreflippers with little claws and slender hindflippers. They were brownish-gray in color with a light underside and sometimes grew algae, giving them a greenish appearance. They were very social and like many seals “hauled out” onto beaches in the hundreds.
The last monk seal to be seen in Florida waters was killed in Key West in 1922. They had been hunted to extinction for the oil from their blubber, which was used to fuel lamps and lubricate machinery. As early as the 1600’s, there are records of plantation owners sending hunters out at night to slaughter these docile animals by the hundreds.
The monk seal’s demise would tragically be due to its friendly and trusting nature. Their curiosity and lack of fear towards humans made them easy to kill. By 1850, so many seals had been killed that there were no longer sufficient numbers for them to be commercially hunted. Seals that were not killed by hunters died of starvation or could not reproduce due to overfishing of the reefs that sustained them.
The last confirmed monk seal was spotted in the waters between Jamaica and Nicaragua in 1952. It was likely already extinct by the time it was put on the endangered species list in 1967. There have been unconfirmed sightings in modern day, but scientists warn not to get one’s hopes up for a miraculous return—they are likely just wandering hooded seals, and due to the ignorance of man, Florida’s shores will never again see hauls of friendly, sunbathing seals.
Painting by Leonardo Romero.
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