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Why These Rare Monk Seals Invented Secret Underwater Panic Rooms

The footage researchers obtained showed the seals just kind of float around peacefully in there.

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According to reporting from Science.org, based on a study published in the journal Oryx, scientists studying Mediterranean monk seals near the Greek islet of Formicula found that the seals have grown so bothered by humans that they started hiding from us in secret underwater chambers that the researchers have dubbed “bubble caves.”

The Mediterranean monk seal is a rare creature to spot. There are fewer than a thousand left in the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic. They used to openly lounge on beaches, and then humans started building resorts in their habitats, and the seals were having a hard time living a normal life among the tourists doing........

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