Monk seal gets medical care, TLC at Athens rescue center

Minos, a young male seal that was found separated from his mother earlier this month in Sitia, on Crete’s northern coast, is being treated by staff members of the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal (MOm), at the non-profit group’s rescue center in Spata, east of Athens, in a photo made available Saturday. Another orphaned seal, known as Ermis, was taken to MOm’s facilities in October after being rescued near the island of Evia. The animals, an endangered species, will receive the care of MOm’s staff for a few months before being released into their natural habitat in one of the protected areas of the Aegean Sea. [EPA]