Polar bears from the Arctic. Tigers from India. Giraffes from the Serengeti. The Romans brought animals thousands of miles for the beast hunts and shows staged in the Colosseum. | How did the Romans Capture Animals for the Colosseum? | August 16, 2019 | toldinstone
Snip..."Mediterranean monk seals are in danger of extinction, but there are some encouraging signs: conservation efforts and coordination among countries are improving, some populations are increasing in size, previously undocumented breeding areas have been discovered, and monk seals are beginning to appear in habitats and places where they had not been seen for decades. In the last several years, small numbers monk seals have been seen in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Sardinia, Syria, Spain, and Libya, and breeding has been documented in some of these countries. In light of these positive signs, in June 2023 the IUCN reclassified the Mediterranean monk seal from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’."
"There is a long history of human exploitation and persecution of Mediterranean monk seals, stretching back from modern times to the Middle Ages, the Roman era and even to prehistoric times. Like other monk seals, Mediterranean monk seals likely rested and pupped on sandy beaches in many areas, but over centuries of exploitation and harassment, they now almost always rest and pup in inaccessible caves that contain sandy beaches. The low pup survival rate that occurs in Mauritania is thought to result from the use of caves where pups are at risk of being swept away during storms."
The bear's favorite food is the buckthorn berry, which they feast on in the late summer time in the mountains of the Abruzzo park, where the remainder of the subspecies live.[8] Other components of their diet include meat, eating carcasses as well as hunting for certain wild animals, which is why they are not considered a harmful predator to those around them. On the other hand, some domestic animals, including sheep, chickens, turkeys and a few others may fall victim to the bear and its sharp claws.[8]
