Amazed wildlife enthusiasts share memories of their favorite rare seal and call for justice after being killed off the Greek island of Alonissos.
Greek authorities are looking for the killer of Costis, a Mediterranean monk seal who has become a symbol of the island.
Costis was named after the fisherman who rescued him after a storm in 2018.
A Greek charity that cared for Costis for several months when he was a chick believes the seal was killed by a harpoon.
This endangered species of seal is protected by Greek law.
Costis “was executed from a short distance with a harpoon,” says the IOM.
The harpoon was probably released from the boat, spokesman Dimitris Ciakalos told the BBC.
The charity has asked anyone with information to contact police and say they want to sue the killer.
After the rescue, Costis was released into the Alonissos National Marine Park.
On Facebook, users shared memories of seeing a seal off the coast of the island and demanding that the killer be brought to justice.
In the wild, the number of seals of Mediterranean monks may be less than 700, and almost half of them live in Greece.
Currently, Mediterranean monk seals are considered endangered, but not endangered, but researchers warn that their survival is “far from guaranteed.”