After being informed by local residents, researchers from the Archipelagos Institute specialising in marine mammals went to the site and observed from a distance the behaviour of the seal, which stayed on the shore for several hours and returned to the sea in the evening. It is estimated that it was found there during the moulting process.

Although Mediterranean seals usually avoid shores where humans are present, occasionally, and especially during spring, we receive reports of similar incidents in various areas of the Aegean Sea.

If you spot a seal in a coastal area, it is important not to approach it and in any case to prevent any form of disturbance from humans or pets.

The Mediterranean seal is an iconic marine mammal.

Until the 1950s, it was a highly abundant species with a distribution throughout the Mediterranean. In recent decades, however, human activity has driven most populations to extinction. Today it is among the most endangered species – there are about 700 Mediterranean harbour seals surviving worldwide.

Some of the last significant remaining populations of Mediterranean seals survive today in the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea and Crete. However, the survival of these populations depends on their effective protection through the active participation of all of us in actions for the effective protection of our seas.