When Europeans first arrived on the east coast of North America, there were an estimated 300,000 Caribbean monk seals in the Caribbean sea. They ranged throughout the Gulf of Mexico, thriving in the warm Caribbean Sea. Columbus was the first European explorer to describe them in his journal in 1494, as he killed 8 of them upon his arrival on Hispaniola. In 1513, Ponce de Leon, while looking for the Fountain of Youth in Florida, killed several Caribbean monk seals. As the colonies expanded in the new world, so did the need to kill more Caribbean monk seals. In 1668, sugar plantations killed hundreds of seals a day to use their blubber to oil their machinery. In the 1700’s fishermen killed the seals in great numbers for two reasons. First, it eliminated competition for fish. Secondly, the seal oil was used to light their lamps for hunting at night. By the 1850’s their numbers plummeted and it was no longer cost effective to hunt for the monk seals. Even though they were not frequently hunted for food or oil, the population in the Caribbean continued to put a demand for more fish. As fishing practices improved, the fish population in the Caribbean monk seal’s range dropped. This led to many Caribbean monk seals simply dying of starvation. In 1897, the first Caribbean monk seal was taken into captivity at the New York Aquarium and did quite well. In 1922, a monk seal was spotted in the Florida Keys. In 1926 & 1932 monks seals were spotted off the coast of Texas. The last monk seal killed was in Pedro Cays in 1949. The last confirmed Caribbean monk seal sighting was in Serranilla Bank, Columbia in 1952. 1952 marks the accepted extinction date for the Caribbean monk seal. In 1967 they were put on the endangered species list. There have been some unconfirmed sightings since then, but the Caribbean monk seal was officially deemed extinct in 2008. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Caribbean monk seal might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the few remaining skins and specimens at museums. If the Caribbean monk seal was brought to life, could it ever be reintroduced to its native homeland in the Caribbean? The United States has made many strides in protecting endangered species through many initiatives like the US Endangered Species Act of 1972, but the Caribbean monk seal might find competition with fisherman and a lack of food from overfished waters to be a potential hurdle to overcome. The two other types of monk seals, the Hawaiian and Mediterranean, left in the world are critically endangered, so the outcome for the Caribbean monk seal might be similar. If the Caribbean monk seal ever was brought back from extinction, it seems like it would have many o obstacles to overcome to survive in the wild. Most likely, breeding programs could be set up at zoos and aquariums to help the population expand. During the early 1900’s the New York Aquarium did have success with Caribbean monk seals in captivity.