China News Service, December 5th. According to RIA Novosti citing the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic of Dagestan, as of the 4th local time, about 2,500 dead seals have been found along the coast of the Caspian Sea in the region.
The cause of the seal's death is currently under investigation.
Workers examine seal carcasses.
Image source: Screenshot of RIA Novosti report
According to reports, the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency said earlier that about 700 dead seals were found along the Caspian Sea coast of the Republic of Dagestan. The local natural resources and environment department subsequently reported that the number of dead seals had reached 2,500.
The carcasses of these seals are scattered in different places.
The count of the number of dead seals is still in progress, and the cause of death will be confirmed after the laboratory studies the pathological materials.
The director of the Caspian Sea Environmental Protection Center said the seals died about two weeks ago and there was no sign they were killed or caught in fishing nets.
Recently, a large number of dead seals have been found on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
Image source: Social media of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic of Dagestan
According to the center, the Caspian seal is a unique marine mammal in the Caspian Sea. It is about 160 centimeters long and weighs up to 100 kilograms. It mainly eats fish and is at the top of the food chain. It has almost no natural enemies when it becomes an adult.
According to the center, there are about 70,000 Caspian seals in the Caspian Sea.
Since 2008, the Caspian Sea seal has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).