**6. Monk seal**

The Mediterranean monk seal (*Monachus monachus*) is a common mammal in the Syrian coastal water, especially in the northern parts of the Syrian coast near the Syrian–Turkish border. These animals live up to 45 years and their length is approximately 2.5 m. Male and female Mediterranean monk seals can be easily distinguished since the first ones have black color, while the second ones have brown fur. After

#### **Figure 4.**

*Pictures of five dolphins (*T. truncatus*) in front of the beach of Wadi Qandil, about 30 km north of Latakia, during the field survey process by direct viewing onboard the boat Okeanos within the framework of the ASI– ACCOBAMS project: 2 August 2019 [14].*

<sup>1</sup> Accobams Survey Initiative.

<sup>2</sup> Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and Contiguous Atlantic Area.

#### **Figure 5.**

*A female Mediterranean monk seal was found carrying a full fetus that had mistakenly been killed (Port of Latakia, Syrian coast, 7/22/2013).*

#### **Figure 6.**

*An individual monk seal was seen swimming near the beach of Burj Islam, 20 km north of Latakia, 12 December 2021.*

being considered "critically endangered" for the previous 19 years, the Mediterranean monk seal *Monachus monachus* (Hermann, 1779) has been classified as "Endangered," according to the IUCN Red List. Although the population is doing better in the Mediterranean, the monk seal remains a relatively rare species and difficult to observe with large consumption of fish per day, the animal has long been the bane of fishermen in the archipelago because they regularly tore their nets. Gradually, he succeeded in escaping their radars and by the same to those of the scientists who deplore the insufficiency of information. Hunted for a long time, we are now trying to get to know the animal better. Hope today lies in the development of new tools for the preservation of marine biodiversity.

These species are threatened by human activity and environmental pollution. More than 32 sightings of this animal have been recorded in the waters of the Syrian coast between 1996 and 2021. On July 22, 2013, a female Mediterranean monk seal was found carrying a full fetus (**Figure 5**), who had mistakenly killed someone who had infiltrated the main port with the aim of sabotaging. The victim's mother and her chick were placed in two fiberglass basins filled with formalin. On December 12, 2021,


#### **Table 3.**

*Comparison between the marine mammal species that were previously documented nearly a century ago and those whose existence has been documented in Syrian waters during the last two decades.*

the presence of two seals was documented in a cave on the seashore in the Samra region on the Syrian–Turkish border, and one individual was seen swimming near the beach of Burj Islam, 20 km north of Latakia, where there are several caves believed that seals take refuge in them to rest or take care of their young (**Figure 6**). It is worth noting that the author recorded sounds of monk seals in a rocky cave south of Burj Islam on July 16, 2020, and these sounds indicate the presence of more than one individual. A seal swimming in the same place was previously documented in 2005 [16].

In addition, according to local residents and fishermen, there are eight seals that were seen intermittently roaming the waters between Burj Islam, Wadi Qandil (20 km north of Latakia), and Samra, on the Turkish–Syrian border.

Before the end of this chapter, we have compiled the results of previous and current work in **Table 3**, which shows a comparison between the species of marine that were previously documented nearly a century ago and those whose existence has been documented in Syrian waters during the last two decades.

### **7. Conclusion**

In this work, marine mammals in the Syrian waters (the Levant Basin) and the changes that have occurred in their qualitative composition have been

*Marine Mammals in Syria DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104475*

documented for about a hundred years now. Hence, it is of great importance, and the results showed that the Syrian waters and those of the neighboring countries have become a visiting area for many marine mammals that have not been previously observed, and more cases of stranding have been observed and documented, as this is attributed to the fragility of marine mammals in front of various human activities, such as increasing fishing operations associated with the diversity and efficiency of fishing gear, and the rise in commercial shipping and seismic activities. There are four species whose presence in the Syrian marine waters was mentioned a century ago, but neither alive nor dead have been seen in this area since 1996. The repeated sightings of many species (Lives or strandings) may be due to climatic changes which affect their migration and mobility from one place to another. Stakeholders should pay more attention to marine mammals in Syria through increased awareness, and the continuous monitoring, documentation, and mapping of recorded strandings to further suggest measures on how to protect such important and vulnerable species.
