Officials reported that around 2,500 seals had been found dead along southern Russia's Caspian Sea coast, initial reports suggested that 700 dead seals were found around the coast.
Moscow: Officials reported that around 2,500 seals had been found dead along southern Russia’s Caspian Sea coast. Initial reports suggested that 700 dead seals were found around the coast. However, after further investigation, the Russian ministry of natural resources and the environment increased the number to roughly 2,500, which is anticipated to increase even higher, according to the Guardian.
Officials believed that the death of seals was expected to take place naturally and that no untoward incident took place, as stated by the head of the Caspian Environmental Protection Center, Zaur Gapizov. The tragic incident seems to have occurred around two weeks ago. There is no confirmatory report or any evidence to imagine that the animals were caught in the fishing nets or killed, he said.
Experts at the Federal Fisheries Agency have collected samples from the seals to find out the exact cause of their deaths.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed Caspian seals as endangered since 2008. Over the past few decades, the population of Caspian Sea seals has severely decreased. The Caspian Environmental Protection Center claims that there are only about 70,000 Caspian seals left in existence. Notably, the fisheries agency puts the overall number of Caspian seals at 270,000–300,000.
