About 2,500 endangered seals were found dead on the coast of Russia's Caspian Sea, according to a report yesterday (Sunday) by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing authorities in the region.
Seals from the Caspian Sea, the only mammal found in this sea, have been defined as endangered and have been on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2008. The
seals washed up on the coast of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia, along the Caspian Sea - the largest land-locked body of water in the world - which borders In five countries: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Dagestan's Ministry of Natural Resources said the animals died of "natural causes" and warned that the number of dead seals could rise.
Apparently, they died about two weeks ago, but "there are no signs of violent death, or remains of fishing nets," the ministry reported.
The only mammal that lives in the Caspian Sea (photo: screenshot, Twitter)
According to the RIA report, inspectors are patrolling the coast in search of more dead seals.
At the same time, experts from the Financial Center for the Environment are analyzing samples of the seals to diagnose the cause of death.
Earlier this year, more than 140 Caspian seals were found dead off the coast of Kazakhstan, according to the Caspian Sea Seals Conservation Agency (KASPIKA).
The Caspian Sea seal population suffers from increased hunting, habitat destruction and climate change.
Following the latest incident, the ministry in Dagestan said that overall, the number of seals in the region remained stable at "270,000-300,000".
The seals, which feed mainly on fish, can reach a length of 1.6 meters and a weight of more than 100 kg. They are at the top of the food pyramid and as adults, they have no natural enemies in the sea, according to RIA.
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