Monk Seal Keeps Getting a Eel Stuck In Its Nose

Due to a variety of dangers, including sickness and complications with fishing nets, the Hawaiian monk seal is now considered to be endangered. If that’s not enough, scientists are finding these beautiful animals with eels in their nostrils. It’s happening so frequently that it’s starting to become a problem. 

Take a look at the image below that shows a monk seal with a long eel hanging out of its nose. The incidence was simply the most recent eel-in-snout occurrence in the previous two years, perplexing researchers.

No such incident has ever occurred in the 40 years that the principal scientist at NOAA has been diligently tracking monk seals. Now that it has occurred three or four times, they are unsure of the cause.

The eels get pretty tight in there, which means you have to hold the seal back and pull on the eel hard enough to get it out without hurting either creature. The phenomenon might put seals at risk for diseases or perhaps interfere with their capacity to dive and hunt for aquatic life. 

Why Is This Happening?

When plunging into the water, seals usually close their nostrils. This can make it more different when they have an eel that is in their nose. There will undoubtedly be issues if you breathe rancid fish into your nose.

Although every one of the dangling eels from monk seals has been safely removed, scientists continue to attempt to figure out why this is occurring in the first place. One hypothesis is that seals, who frequently vomit their food, are only spitting up eels via their noses. 

A different approach is that whilst the seals are hunting for food under rocks, frightened eels try to escape them and become stuck there. In any case, scientists are scratching their heads as to why people are just now witnessing these eels being so nosy. 

What Do Monk Seals Eat?

Hawaiian monk seals are “generalist” eaters, which implies that based on what is accessible, they will eat an assortment of things. They consume various common fish species, as well as crabs, squid, octopus, and eels.  

According to diet investigations, they favor prey that is easier to catch over the majority of the regionally common game fish. Monk seals eat a range of food, such as fish and cephalopods, and they are generally bottom feeders. 

They often forage for prey in waters 60 to 300 feet below the surface, away from the nearest shorelines. Monk seals can swim to great depths in order to eat. Some swim as deep as 1,000 feet, where they consume benthic animals like eels.

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