A rare, endangered seal named Yulia basks on Tel Aviv beach

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An unexpected visitor spotted sunbathing on a beach in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv is turning heads and causing a media buzz. But it’s not American film director and Tel Aviv mainstay Quentin Tarantino or another celebrity. It’s Yulia, an endangered Mediterranean monk seal. The seal cow, named Yulia by Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, first appeared south of Tel Aviv’s main beachfront last Friday. The seal drew clusters of curious onlookers to the rocky beach south of Jaffa’s historic center on Tuesday. The Mediterranean monk seal is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with as few as 350 mature specimens estimated to exist in the wild.