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HAWAII – The photo of a Mediterranean monk seal with an eel caught in the nose and viralized in the nets caught the attention of the US Oceans and Atmospheric Administration. According to biologists, the phenomenon could pose a threat to the survival of species threatened with extinction.
"We watched these seals four decades ago and that never happened all the time," said researcher Charles Littnan. "Now, you've repeated it three or four times and we do not understand why."
The experts are working on two theories: the first would be that seals would throw eels through the nose – which would be natural for the natural mammal of Hawaii. The second hypothesis is that frightened eels are trapped as they try to escape predators seeking food in the rocks.
The first time that biologists have discovered a seal with an eel stuck in the nose, it was in 2016. Since then, the situation has been repeated enough times for the AOAN create a tutorial:
"As eels get caught in the nose of seals, we have to hold them and shoot hard," says Littnan. "One time, an eel was so stuck that she was pulling her tirelessly until she got in. Fortunately, we managed to get her out every time."
The end for eels, however, is not so happy once they have died with "the accident".
Eels caught in the nose of seals can cause infections or even affect their ability to dive and hunt. The main threats to the species – with only 1 400 copies remaining – are fisheries, diseases and climate change.
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