It's official: Caribbean monk seal is extinct

MSNBC ^ | 7-6-2008 | MSNBC

[Westlander]

After five years of futile efforts to find or confirm sightings of any Caribbean monk seals — even just one — the U.S. government on Friday announced that the species is officially extinct and the only seal to vanish due to human causes.

[elfman2]

Caribbean Monk Seal - (Monachus tropicalis)
Status
The Caribbean monk seal was formally declared extinct in the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. The last reported sighting in 1952 was from Seranilla Bank between Jamaica and Honduras, where a small colony was known to have lived. The Caribbean monk seal was documented as being easily approachable and not aggressive and they were easily killed during directed hunts in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is also known that sailors, whalers, and fishers opportunistically killed the seals they encountered. As well, Caribbean monk seals were killed by museum collectors and displayed in zoos. All monk seal species appear to be sensitive to disturbance, and early habitat exclusion by humans throughout their range may have exacerbated their decline. In response to recent unconfirmed Caribbean monk seal sightings in areas within their historical range, surveys have been carried out as late as 1993.

[Dog Gone]

Whatever caused it is man’s fault.

It wasn’t a shark. No siree.

[Bob]

The problem I had with the Caribbean monk seals was that it always took more than one to make a decent meal.

While that's true, they're a meal that's hard to beat, especially with a nice Spotted Owl glaze.

[SampleMan]

Perhaps if they hadn’t been monks?

[longtermmemmory]

if we were allowed to hunt and eat them they might have lived.

(so has anyone thought of farm raising whales as a fuel source?)

[MediaMole]

The only good part of the Caribbean Monk Seal were the front flippers. You had to go through 6 seals just to get a dozen cajun blackened seal fingers.

[FlingWingFlyer]

The Ocean Conservancy said some of the threats, especially erosion and debris, are tied to the El Nino weather pattern and rising sea levels, which in turn is tied to global warming.

When did the dorks "tie" El Nino to "global warming?" I missed that! El Nino was around LONG before the Goracle and his comrades invented "global warming."

[MaxMax]

I wasn’t even born then, so how is this my fault?

[BoneHead]

Admin moderator this isn’t breaking news this is 50 year old news. Do we have any archives that old???

[Bommer]

The Caribbean monk seal was formally declared extinct in the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. The last reported sighting in 1952 was from Seranilla Bank between Jamaica and Honduras, where a small colony was known to have lived.

So the US government is either 56 years late or 12 years late! Today the Caribbean Seal, tomorrow THE POLAR BEAR! Only the strong survive baby! Drill em all and let Exxon sort out the rest!

[Coffee200am]

I can’t think of thing they ever did for me.

[puppypusher]

Gee!Maybe we can start drilling for oil in the Carribean then.Oh I forgot the Chicoms have it already.

We can thank Jed Bush for that.

[Battle Axe]

Aren't monks celibate? Just like the Shakers, they died out due to lack of sex.

[Mr. Jazzy]

Aww shucks!

Ya caught me! It wasn’t Caribbean Monk Seal, it was Spotted Owl ...