Animal of the Month

1. The Caribbean monk seal, also known as the West Indian seal, is an extinct species. On 6 June 2008, the U.S. government announced that the species is officially extinct. This is the only seal species whose extinction was caused by humans.
2. The seal was last seen in 1952.
3. The Caribbean monk seal was the only subtropical seal native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
4. Caribbean monk seals were discovered during Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the Americas in 1494, when eight seals were killed for meat. This led to the exploitation of the species by settlers and traders who emigrated to the Americas after Columbus' arrival.
5. The Caribbean monk seal population peaked at more than 250,000 seals, but because they gave birth to their pups on beaches, the seals were easily spotted by hunters.
6. They had short, brown fur on their bodies and bare palms. A male could weigh as much as a large crocodile!
   
7. They mainly ate lobsters, eels, octopuses and other reef fish. Supposedly, they only had two predators – humans and sharks.
   
8. For more than 200 years, Caribbean monk seals were killed mostly for their blubber, which was used to make oils that people would use to smear the bottoms of their boats.
   
9. They were curious creatures who were quite unafraid of humans. This unfortunately led to their extinction.
   
10. They would often float on the surface of the water. This contributed to the spread of mermaid legends.