Mediterranean monk seal off Ginak Island, The Gambia: a new sighting at the southern fringe of the known range

Armstrong, Roy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8748-8787 and Nevin, Owen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-8053 (2005) Mediterranean monk seal off Ginak Island, The Gambia: a new sighting at the southern fringe of the known range. The Monachus Guardian, 8 (2).

Preview

PDF - Published Version Available under License CC BY-NC Download (699kB) | Preview

Abstract

On April 13th 2005, we visited the village of Ginak (also spelled Jinak) in the Niumi National Park, The Gambia, with a view to identifying suitable study sites for fieldwork on a range of marine vertebrates. During the visit we were introduced to Saidou Jammeh, an old fisherman who had worked all of his life in the area around Ginak. Through an interpreter we interviewed Mr Jammeh about the status of a range of marine vertebrates including West African Manatee, Atlantic Humpback Dolphin and marine turtles. In view of recent records of Mediterranean Monk Seal in The Gambia, for example a juvenile off the Bijol Islands on November 3rd 1997 (Van Waerebeek et al. 2001), during the interview we also asked about seals. Mr Jammeh was presented with images of all of our target species and asked whether he was familiar with each and whether they could be seen around Ginak. Great care was taken not to “lead” Mr Jammeh. Once he had confirmed the presence of any species, he was questioned about the natural history of each to confirm that he was genuinely familiar with each and not simply telling the interviewer what he wanted to hear.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	The Monachus Guardian
Publisher:	Friends of the Monk Seal
Departments:	Academic Departments > Science, Natural Resources & Outdoor Studies (SNROS) > Forestry and Conservation
Depositing User:	Insight Administrator
Date Deposited:	05 Apr 2011 08:36
Last Modified:	11 Jan 2024 19:00
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/848

Downloads