Mediterranean monk seal

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mediterranean-monk-seal

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How many people live in Mediterranean monk seal?Estimated fewer than 700 individuals, divided into isolated subpopulations
2. What is the scientific name?Monachus monachus
3. What is the genus?Monachus (sole extant species)
4. Where do Mediterranean monk seals live?They live in a few isolated places, mainly the Aegean Sea in Greece, the coast of Mauritania and Western Sahara, and a small group in Madeira. They like quiet, remote beaches and sea caves where they can rest and have babies.
5. Why are Mediterranean monk seals endangered?They are endangered because people build on their beaches, pollute the water, and fishermen sometimes catch or hurt them in nets. Hunting in the past also made their numbers very small.

Extant: Currently in existence; not extinct.
Pinniped: A carnivorous marine mammal of the order Pinnipedia, characterized by flippers and a streamlined body, including seals, sea lions, and walruses.
Subpopulations: Distinct groups of a species that are geographically or reproductively isolated from other groups.
Taxonomy: The branch of science concerned with the classification of organisms.