Over 320 dead seals discovered on Caspian Sea coast in Russia's Dagestan
More than 320 dead seals have been found on the Caspian Sea coast between the estuary of the Sulak River and the Terek River, regional emergency response services told TASS.
"From the mouth of the Sulak River to the Terek River, we found 322 dead seals," the source said, noting that the number of dead animals found may grow.
Earlier, the Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources reported on its Telegram channel that it had begun receiving information about seal carcasses washing up on shore. The ministry noted that specialists had begun an on-site inspection of the coastline.
The department added that Caspian seal deaths are quite common during the mammals' annual migration period. Scientists posit that the main cause is the animals suffocating when they are exposed to natural gas emissions that seep out of the seabed in seismically active areas.
The Caspian seal is the only mammal living in the water body. In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature assigned it the status of an endangered species. In 2015, a program to preserve this animal was adopted in Dagestan. In 2020, the Caspian seal was included in Russia's Red Data Book.
In early November, the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan reported that the mass die-off of the Caspian seals in Mangistau region had been caused by a weakened immune system.