Cyprus · 2006—2026
Mediterranean monk seal
Seals around Cyprus.
Explore sourced seal records around Cyprus, from Chrysochou Bay and Paphos to studies of the north coast. Dates and locations retain the limits of each source.
- Total reports
- 26
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Public records archive
9 September 2006—9 September 2026
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26 reports
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15 of 26 reports mapped · 5 areas
Broad or withheld areas
These reports have no single reliable map point. Their areas remain available as archive filters.
Map: Natural Earth.
Reports over time
Select a year, then a month. Counts describe published reports; one animal may appear in several reports.
Grouped by each record’s archive date. Approximate dates keep their original labels in the records below.
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Date: 2026Reported: Unidentified Politis
Observation: Politis reported video of seals swimming close to the Peyia coast. Its article body describes two seals, while its summary describes one, so the count remains unspecified. Published 9 September; the exact filming date was not stated.
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Date: 2026Reported: Unidentified Pafos Press / Cyprus Mail
Observation: A seal was filmed swimming and repeatedly diving near the shore in Kato Paphos harbour. Cyprus Mail identified it as a Mediterranean monk seal and reported the encounter on Thursday, 20 August.
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Date: 2026Reported: Unidentified Pafos Press
Observation: One seal was seen swimming near boats in Kato Paphos harbour. Onlookers recorded the encounter on their phones. The article explicitly places the sighting on 14 July.
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Date: 2026Reported: Unidentified Pafos Press
Observation: One seal was filmed near two people riding a jet ski between Coral Bay and Corallia beaches. Pafos Press reported the encounter on 16 June; the exact filming date was not stated.
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Date: 2026Reported: Unidentified Pafos Press / Cyprus News Agency (via ink)
Observation: An adult seal was found dead near Neo Chorio on the morning of 24 March. Members of the public notified the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research. The reports did not establish the cause of death.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Colin — A Field Notebook
Observation: While filming a little gull at dawn, Colin recorded a seal offshore and noticed it when reviewing the footage that evening. He reports its identification as a Mediterranean monk seal after making enquiries.
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Date:Reported: Panagis Cyprus agriculture ministry statement, reproduced by Philenews
Observation: The monitoring team and lifeguards found the orphaned pup Panagis on a rocky shore. He was subsequently taken into care and transferred to Greece.
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Date:Reported: Arkadia Cyprus DFMR — Marcou and Nicolaou
Observation: The monitoring register records Arkadia's birth to Anassa.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Julien Renoult — iNaturalist (jujurenoult)
Observation: Photographic observation identified on iNaturalist as Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus).
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Date:Reported: Odysseas Cyprus DFMR — Marcou and Nicolaou
Observation: The monitoring register records Odysseas's birth to Ydili.
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Date:Reported: Melouzini Cyprus DFMR — Marcou and Nicolaou
Observation: The monitoring register records Melouzini's birth to Ariadne.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Beton et al. — Oryx camera-trap study
Observation: A dead seal pup was found on a beach after heavy seas. Researchers assumed it was the pup seen on 27 October, but that identity was not confirmed. This date is the carcass discovery date, not a confirmed date of death.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Beton et al. — Oryx camera-trap study
Observation: A post-moult Class C seal was seen in the monitored area while researchers followed the status of a pup. The seal's identity and any relationship to that pup were not established; the exact site is withheld.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Beton et al. — Oryx camera-trap study
Observation: A non-moulted pup was observed at a fishing harbour following a storm. “Pup 3” is the researchers' label; the exact harbour and nearby cave locations are withheld.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Beton et al. — Oryx camera-trap study
Observation: A female post-moult seal was photographed at a monitored coastal site. “Seal 4” is the study's photo-identification label, not a public animal name; the exact cave site is withheld.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Cyprus DFMR report via Pafos Press / Cyprus Mail
Observation: A young seal pup previously seen alone in Kato Paphos was reported swimming with its mother in Paphos waters. The report dated 3 February says foresters saw the pair the previous day; neither animal is individually named.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified My Journey / Pafos Press
Observation: One Mediterranean monk seal appeared in shallow water at Kato Paphos harbour at about 08:00 and remained there for several hours, according to local eyewitness reports.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Beton et al. — Oryx camera-trap study
Observation: A female non-moulted pup was recorded at a monitored coastal site. The study later reported that the pup died before moulting; it attributed the death to wave action based on circumstantial evidence.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Beton et al. — Oryx camera-trap study
Observation: A moulted pup was observed outside a monitored coastal cave. Researchers considered it likely to be the same pup they had recorded during 25 November–9 December 2016; that identity remains the study's attribution.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified George Konstantinou — firsthand field notes
Observation: George Konstantinou reported seeing one adult female Mediterranean monk seal at the Cape Plakoti coast. The source dates the visit to 5 November 2016 and says he photographed and filmed the encounter; no individual name is attributed.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Linda Stokes, firsthand comment on Monachus Guardian DFMR account
Observation: Linda Stokes reported two monk seals together in about 3 m of water for at least two hours. A possible third animal was too distant to identify confidently and is excluded from the count.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Robert Thompson, firsthand comment on Monachus Guardian DFMR account
Observation: Robert Thompson reported one monk seal surfacing at intervals for about 45 minutes while his boat was anchored off Governor's Beach. The encounter was offshore; no photograph was available and no individual identity was assigned.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified A. Demetropoulos — personal record cited in Cyprus EIA
Observation: A very young monk seal pup was found dead on the coast. The source does not establish the cause of death.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Jorg Grether, firsthand letter in Monachus Guardian
Observation: Windsurfer Jorg Grether reported one dark seal about 80 metres offshore from Mackenzie Beach at 16:00 on 25 January 2008. It surfaced nearby and then disappeared.
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Date:Reported: Unidentified Luca Morandini, firsthand letter in Monachus Guardian
Observation: While free diving, Luca Morandini saw a grey seal emerge from a coastal cave at about 19:30 and swim offshore. The magazine deliberately redacted the locality.
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Date:Reported: Bombaci Gücü et al., Middle East Technical University and LEVANT
Observation: The survey team reports its monitoring camera last recorded the identified male monk seal Bombaci on 9 September 2006. This is a later dated record after the summer field encounter.