seal.watch / madeira

Madeira · 2000—2026

Mediterranean monk seal

Madeira’s wild return.

Follow public reports of Madeira’s rare monk seals, known locally as lobo-marinho. Their main refuge is the Desertas Islands, with animals also seen around Madeira’s coast.

About Madeira’s monk seals

In Madeira, Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) form a small resident population. These seals feed mainly on fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, and depend on quiet coastal waters and sheltered beaches or sea caves for resting, giving birth and nursing—making respectful distance essential to their recovery.

Total reports
129
Latest observation

Public reports · newest first

Public records archive

27 April—17 May

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3 of 129 reports

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All areas

Markers represent broad named areas, never exact observation locations. Select an area to filter the archive.

4 of 4 reports mapped · 2 areas

N ↑Calheta · 3 reports1Santa Cruz · 1 report2
  1. Calheta3 reports
  2. Santa Cruz1 report

Map: Natural Earth.

Reports over time

All dates

Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.

  1. 12014
  2. 32021
  3. 72023
  4. 12024
  5. 12025
  6. 42026

Months in 2021

  1. 0Jan
  2. 0Feb
  3. 0Mar
  4. 1Apr
  5. 2May
  6. 0Jun
  7. 0Jul
  8. 0Aug
  9. 0Sep
  10. 0Oct
  11. 0Nov
  12. 0Dec

Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.

  1. 2021
    Between Paul do Mar and Jardim do Mar Calheta
    Same 23-year-old female from the April–May sequence Diário de Notícias Madeira

    Mortality record: found dead after the repeated sightings and treatment sequence.

  2. 2021
    Paul do Mar Calheta
    Same unidentified female as the April sequence Diário de Notícias Madeira

    Intervention: the debilitated animal was assessed and medicated by IFCN personnel.

  3. 2021
    Paul do Mar Calheta
    Unidentified adult female Diário de Notícias Madeira

    Repeated sighting: the first exact-dated public record in a sequence already underway for roughly a week and a half, followed by the 1 and 17 May records.