The intrigue persists: scientists have found another seal with live eel in the nose

The other day, scientists discovered a young Hawaiian monk seal with an eel sticking out of its nose. This narrow and long fish somehow ended up in the nose of the pinnipeds, and, as experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say, they had to find similar animals before.

Hawaiian monk seals live in the Hawaiian archipelago and are extremely small. They got their scientific name for the unusual folds of skin on the neck that resemble a monk's hood. But the locals call these animals quite differently. Hawaiian monk seals feed in coral reefs, looking for food in shallow water, so local aborigines call them "a dog running in rough water." Seals usually live in the cool waters of temperate and polar latitudes, but the Hawaiian monk seal is one of the few species of seals that feel comfortable in the tropics. They often go out on sandy beaches to soak up the sun.

As a result of active fishing in the last century, this species was on the verge of extinction, and today its number does not exceed several thousand individuals. For this reason, the species is strictly protected by American law, and scientists monitor the state of the Hawaiian monk seal population. Over the past two years, scientists have repeatedly found seals in the nose of which acne stuck.

The monk seals living in the Hawaiian Islands feed on the marine inhabitants they find on coral reefs. Their diet also includes long narrow fish, eels, which scientists have found in the nose of several seals. Specialists cannot yet say exactly how they ended up there, maybe they just panicked into the first hole they got when the seal disturbed them in the shelter with their nose. It is only reported that all fish were recovered, while the seals were not affected in any way. Unfortunately, acne after such manipulations in all cases did not survive.