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
3 August 2006—13 April 2019
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13 of 129 reports
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Explore by area
All areasMarkers represent broad named areas, never exact observation locations. Select an area to filter the archive.
105 of 129 reports mapped · 12 areas
- Calheta17 reports
- Calheta waters1 report
- Câmara de Lobos3 reports
- Caniçal1 report
- Caniço1 report
- Desertas Islands17 reports
- Funchal41 reports
- Machico7 reports
- Porto Santo3 reports
- Ribeira Brava1 report
- Santa Cruz12 reports
- Santana1 report
Other reported areas
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Map: Natural Earth.
Reports over time
Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.
Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.
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Date: 2019Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Vasco Valadares
Observation: Vasco Valadares recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2018Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Honza Grünwald
Observation: Honza Grünwald recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2018Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Tiago Guerreiro
Observation: Tiago Guerreiro recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2017Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Andry Castro
Observation: Andry Castro recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2017Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Sophie Mowles
Observation: Sophie Mowles recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observer reported seeing the seal through binoculars around fish cages, without a photograph. The identification is unverified.
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Date: 2017Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Andreas Michalik
Observation: Andreas Michalik recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2015Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Dario Pozzan
Observation: Dario Pozzan recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2014Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Thomas Menut
Observation: Thomas Menut recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2014Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Luis Silva
Observation: Luis Silva recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2013Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Miguel
Observation: Miguel recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2012Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — Paul Kingsnorth
Observation: Paul Kingsnorth recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2010Reported: Unidentified iNaturalist — chacled
Observation: chacled recorded a Mediterranean monk seal in the Madeira archipelago. The observation includes photographs; the source obscures the location.
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Date: 2006Reported: Unidentified Rosa Pires, Parque Natural da Madeira, in The Monachus Guardian; Sealcentre Pieterburen archive on iNaturalist
Observation: Rosa Pires reported an injured hooded seal discovered in the Madeira archipelago. It subsequently died during rehabilitation. The archived case describes one juvenile male that stranded alive; the exact finding site is unspecified.