It’s been identified that the adult female monk seal (Monachus monachus) found dead in Selinus Beach in Gazipasa in Antalya on the 15th of August, 2013, was the same individual previously found wounded and sick in Alanya in July. This individual, a Mediterranean monk seal, was given medical care by 7 institutions and then released into nature. According to the necropsy, it’s believed that the seal has died of natural causes.
According to the necropsy done by Marine Mammal Specialist and Veterinary Surgeon Erdem Danyer from the Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV) and Veterinary Surgeon Ahmet Mefut from Mediterranean Fisheries Research Production and Training Institute, bleeding (haemorrhage) was detected in all tissues of 230 cm long Mediterranean Monk Seal. In addition, parasites were found under the skin and in the oral cavity of the animal. The seal was likely weakened due to nutritional disorder and systemic diseases and died because of hypovolemic shock as a result of internal bleeding. The cause of death will be understood after examining more samples.
Another Mediterranean monk seal was found shot in the same area on the 30th of April. The perpetrators still have not been caught.
