Scientific studies of this species will continue in the protected natural area, together with the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) as part of the ‘Spot the Monk’ project, which over the last year has identified its presence in the waters of Cabrera and Sa Dragonera. The ‘Spot the Monk’ project, led by Professor Elena Agneses Valsecchi of the University of Milano Bicocca, aims to find out when and where monk seals genetic material is found in the environment. During 2021, in the framework of this project, water samples have been collected in 135 locations in the Mediterranean, from the Adriatic Sea to the Balearic Islands. The staff of the Cabrera and Sa Dragonera parks are collaborating with IMEDEA, together with diving centres and rangers from the marine reserves, to take samples in sixteen different locations in these two protected natural areas over a period of two months.