Caribbean Monk Seals' Feeding Habits

Caribbean monk seals have been declared officially extinct, but when in existence they were found in waters off the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, the Greater and the Lesser Antillies. The last confirmed sighting in the United States was off the coast of Texas in 1932. Although extinct, researchers do known a certain amount about their feeding habits.

  1. Eels

    • Scientists do not know for sure what the primary diet of Caribbean monk seals was, but they do know that eels were on their diet list. Hawaiian monk seals, a close relative of the Caribbean monk seal, are known to eat a variety of eels.

    Reef Fish

    • As Caribbean monk seals were native to the waters surrounding the Caribbean Islands, scientists and marine biologists assume that they fed on a variety of different types of reef fish that also inhabit these waters. The French grunt, gray angelfish and spotted goatfish are just a few of the thousands of reef fish that frequent these waters and would have been eaten by Caribbean monk seals.

    Octopus

    • Octopus species are found off the Caribbean coast, and researchers believe that Caribbean monk seals hunted them as part of their diet as Hawaiian monk seals do today. Most active at dawn and dusk, Caribbean monk seals would have hunted these octopuses and used their sharp teeth and strong jaws to kill them.

    Spiny Lobster

    • Today, the Caribbean spiny lobster is preyed upon by many species such as moray eels and nurse sharks, according to Marinebio.com. Researchers believe that in the pas,t Caribbean monk seals would have hunted these lobsters regularly. Growing up to just two feet in length, these lobsters would not have been able to put up much of a challenge to a fully grown, hungry seal.