Operation Big Blue rescue team with Hamza Sleit – Head of Jal el Baher Fishermen Port, documented on May 27th 2017, a rare monk seal in Raouche.
Mediterranean Monk Seals can live up to 50 years and they give birth to 80 cm long pups. These animals were very common in Lebanon until the 1930s. They have been decimated by fishermen, coastal urbanisation, overfishing and pollution. The species has been reported extinct in Lebanon since the 1960s but some sparse and rare sightings were recorded since in two regions. The first is Ain el Mraysseh and the second was found dead in 2012, trapped in a fishing net somewhere facing Tripoli. The fact that the female was pregnant suggest that another seal may be still present along the coast of Lebanon.
