Seals in the Maldives
The appearance of seals down south in Addu of Maldives has become a hot topic among the locals.
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By
Azuhaar Abdul Azeez
10 August
There has been two sightings within the span of a week, but neither the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Police, nor the Addu City Council can tell if its the same seal sighted at two different locations, or two identical lost seals beached amid the stormy south-west monsoon we are experiencing here in the Maldives.
Looking much like a monk seal, the sightings were first at Kanbiha Beach area of Addu City Hithadhoo and then sighted again at Hithadhoo Kin’bivau beach area on Sunday, 7th of August.
Seals are not native to any Indian Ocean country, and they are known to migrate over 10,000km in search of food, spending months at sea.
The Addu City Council on Monday released a statement asking the public not to disturb the seal(s) that has been beached near Hithadhoo. EPA keeps continuously urging the public not to harm marine wildlife that washes up or makes migratory stops in Maldivian waters.
Recently, several species of wildlife have been sighted in the Maldives, most notably a flock of flamingos that visited several islands in the North of the country last year.
P.S.
There has been some speculation over the holes visible on our seal tourist. Some call it gunshot wounds while others say its the result of Addu folk harming it. It is safe to say that these ‘holes’ are not Maldivian-made. Seals have a high incidence of debilitating skin diseases, and holes in seal bodies are formed through natural conditions or other smaller animals most of the time.
