Venice sees rare appearance of endangered monk seal

After the dolphin known as “Mimmo,” or “Nane” as it was nicknamed, a Mediterranean monk seal was spotted in the Venice Lagoon last Sunday.

A video of the sighting was posted in the Facebook group “Pesca in laguna e mare” at sunset, near the Lido inlet. A similar specimen had been seen about ten days earlier off the beach of Ravenna, CE Report quotes ANSA.

According to Mauro Bon, an expert from the Giancarlo Ligabue Museum of Natural History in Venice, “it is likely that this specimen reached our waters to explore new areas, possibly driven by the search for food, since our coasts are richer in the fish they feed on. It is also possible that it comes from the Croatian coast, where there are sizable populations.”

As reported by CE Report, other sightings in recent years, between 2016 and 2018, were also reported around the Lido and in the waters of Chioggia. “Across the Adriatic in recent years,” Bon added, “we have observed a slight increase in the species, despite the ongoing risk of extinction. In 2020, the presence of a young specimen was confirmed in Puglia, suggesting that reproduction may have occurred in that area.”