Elusive Monk Seal Tracked Using eDNA

Join us on a journey to track the monk seal, one of the most elusive endangered animals. In this video, Alex Dainis explains how scientists use Environmental DNA, or eDNA, which is DNA animals shed throughout their environment in the form of hair, skin, nails, and more. In the Mediterranean, 135 water samples were tested for monk seal eDNA. In 57 of those cases, the samples came up positive as a match for monk seal eDNA. This allowed scientists to create a map of where the monk seal was located. The map is more reliable than just eyewitness sightings, considering in one location the monk seal had only been spotted four times since 2008. What endangered species do you think we should use eDNA to find?