Rescued Monk Seal Panayis returns to Cyprus after rehabilitation in Greece

The young Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) Panayis, rescued in the Famagusta district after his mother’s death in November 2024, arrived at Larnaca airport on Friday morning following nearly five months of rehabilitation in Greece.

“Today, we welcome Panayis back after a five-month absence,” Forestry Department officer Haris Nicolaou said. He noted that the seal, just ten days old at the time of its rescue, had fully grown and was set to be released into Cypriot waters later in the day.

“The animal is very healthy and will once again enrich marine biodiversity,” Nicolaou added, expressing gratitude to the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Mediterranean Monk Seal (MOm) for caring for Panayis during his rehabilitation.

MOm president Panos Dendrinos stated that after months of treatment, the now 4.5-month-old seal was ready to live independently in his natural habitat.

“He is beginning a new adventure, adapting to his environment with the skills needed to feed and sustain himself. Of course, we wish him the best of luck,” he said.

Dendrinos highlighted the fruitful collaboration with seal specialists in Cyprus, noting their “excellent work” that together with the work of the MOm team “did the best it could for the orphaned seal”.

Panayis arrived in Larnaca on an Aegean Airlines flight, the same airline that had transported him to Greece at no cost. “Today, we had a very special passenger on our flight,” said Aegean Airlines station manager Dona Sparsi.

Panayis’ mother was found dead in Famagusta in November 2024, with an autopsy revealing that she had died from childbirth complications. Following her death, the Mediterranean monk seal monitoring team mobilised to find the newborn.

At just ten days old, Panayis was discovered in a coastal area and immediately transferred to the Cyprus Marine Aquaculture Research Centre in Meneou for initial care. To ensure his survival without his mother, he was later sent to the MOm team in Greece, which specialises in monk seal rehabilitation.

His discovery coincided with the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, leading to his name Panayis – a title of the Virgin Mary in the Orthodox Church.