Endangered seal swims up to Israeli beach to 'simply rest' a few days

Volunteers were continuing on May 16 to monitor a rare seal after a crowd gathered following its arrival at a beach in Israel a few days prior, the country’s Nature and Parks Authority said. Video posted by the authority on May 15 shows the monk seal, named Julia, lying on the beach as waves lap the shoreline. Julia was spotted at the beach on Friday and has remained in the same spot, watched over by volunteers who are ensuring that no one approaches her. In an interview with Ynet Radio, Guy Levian, the head of the Marine Unit at the Nature and Parks Authority, said the monk seal remains in danger of extinction despite numbers rising in recent years. Levian said Julia was likely going through “a molting process” and was therefore “simply resting” as the process takes a few days to complete. Credit: Nature and Parks Authority via Storyful