Les phoques des côtes de France I. Le phoque moine Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779)

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Abstract
The monk seal has been recorded on the Mediterranean French coast since the 16th century. Until the end of the 19th century it was sighted all along the coast but the main population was located in Provence. In this area, calving probably disappeared between 1930-1935. The population of Corsica''s west coast, which had been important, decreased quickly after 1970. On the French Atlantic coast scarce records are related to erratic specimens from southern populations. Man probably acted as the main factor, by shooting and disturbance, in the disappearance of this species of the French fauna.