There she was sunning herself on the beach, my favorite part of the beach too, at Jaffa’s Slope Park. A rare monk seal appeared on Friday and she has remained there for a few days, the waves lapping her back flippers, apparently healthy and unharmed, according to Israel’s Nature Parks Authority.
A local boy Mohammad named her Julia, and he was granted the naming rights after he stopped a group of curious boys from throwing stones on her. The locals agree that Julia is his seal.
All of Jaffa has come out over the last few days, in Hebrew and Arabic, looking for a sign that she’s well. They are delighting in every burp, flipper swipe, and dream movements that Julia is making. She is unfazed by all the commotion around her.
The Mediterranean Monk Seal, an earless seal is an endangered animal and generally lives more northerly near Greece or Turkey. It is believed that there are about 500 seals in the wild. There have been sightings of monks seals in Israel in the past.
Overfishing, pollution, human-built habitat and marine traffic are blamed for the monk seal decline. But fishermen in Turkey are working to protect monk seals, as we have reported here.
But Julia grabbed the attention of locals as Jaffa’s Slope Park has been transformed over the last 15 years from a construction waste spit to an active park where locals come to barbecue, jog, bike, swim and hang out with the family.
In order to protect her from dogs and curious kids, a 24-hour watch has been set up and caution lines put around her to safeguard her until she decides to return to the water. She is estimated to be about 5 years old.
Guy Levian, from the Nature and Parks Authority, said it was the first time a monk seal had been observed resting on the shore in Israel. In 2010, a seal was observed for the first time riding waves close to the beach in Herzliya, but it did not land on shore.
“We are guarding the seal so nobody approaches and disturbs her until she returns to the sea. This is a protected marine mammal that must not be harmed,” he said.
It’s not uncommon for monk seals to rest days at a time, or even more in the molting period. Local marine animal experts say Julia looks fine and that she is indeed molting, losing her winter coat and saving her energy as the process is completed on the delightful little beach on the coast of Jaffa.
