Dead Caspian Seals on Russian Shores Rise to 2500, Signs of Violent Death Seen

2500 Caspian Seal corpse sightings have reportedly been recorded on Russian shores. The majority of the corpses have visible signs of violent death.

On the Caspian Sea coast of Russia, nearly 2,500 endangered seals have mysteriously been discovered dead.

2500 Dead Caspian Seals

Initially, Dagestan authorities in Russia stated that they had discovered 700 dead Caspian seals. According to Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti, however, Zaur Gapizov, the Caspian Environmental Protection Center director general, claimed on Sunday that the number had increased to at least 1,700.

According to Gapizov, the seals most likely passed away a few weeks ago and there is no proof that poachers were responsible for their deaths. The Federal Agency for Fishery inspectors, members of the Caspian Environmental Center, and staff from other environmental agencies continue to survey the coastline.

Federal Fisheries Agency specialists and prosecutors examined the coastline and gathered the information for analysis.

The number of seals in the world's largest sea mammal reserve is believed to be at least 100,000.

Every few years, dead seals are discovered washed up on the Caspian Sea shores of Dagestan.

According to KASPIKA, an organization for the conservation of Caspian seals, the most recent incident comes after more than 200 Caspian seals were discovered dead on the Kazakhstani coast of the Caspian Sea this year.

A similar incident happened earlier this year when 140 Caspian seals were discovered dead on the Caspian Sea beaches in Kazakhstan.

Over the course of the weekend, locals reported two distinct mass-stranding events in which the bodies piled up.

Read also: Scientists Observe Solitary Habits of Leopard Seals Amid Climate Change 

Caspian Seals

Since 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed Caspian seals, the sole mammal that resides in the Caspian Sea, as being in danger of extinction.

The seals are already at the top of the food chain and as adults have no natural enemies, according to RIA Novosti via NDTV. They can get as big as 1.6 meters or 5.2 feet in length and up to 100 kilograms in weight or about 200 pounds.

According to the IUCN, unsustainable hunting for their blubber and fur caused the Caspian seal population to decline by more than 70% in the 20th century.

According to Dr. Simon Goodman, an ecologist at the University of Leeds, human activities currently pose the biggest threats to Caspian seals, including extremely high rates of seal mortality in the fishing gear used for sturgeon poaching and habitat degradation brought on by coastal development.

Goodman added that reduced winter sea ice that seals depend on for breeding and a predicted decline in the Caspian Sea's level due to global warming are both causes for concern, according to Newsweek.

Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan are the five nations that surround the Caspian Sea, the largest landlocked body of water in the world. Earlier in October, hundreds of pilot whales were discovered dead at the Chatham Islands in New Zealand, according to The Independent.

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