aAbout 2,500 dead seals have been discovered on the shores of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia, according to officials. Officials in Dagestan province said on Sunday that the cause of the mass deaths was not known, but were likely natural causes.
Saur Gepisov, head of the Caspian Environmental Protection Center, said the animals may have died weeks ago. No indication was found that they were killed or caught in fishing nets. The Fisheries Authority inspected the coast and took samples for laboratory testing, which initially did not detect abnormal levels of pollution.
According to the Russian Fisheries Agency, there are 270,000 to 300,000 seals in the Caspian Sea. The Center for Environmental Protection considers 70,000.
The Caspian seal is an endangered species and is under special protection. According to animal rights activists, their population has declined by about 90 percent in the past 100 years – also due to increased pollution of the Caspian Sea, where oil is extracted, for example. According to experts, animals are dying from oil spills, poaching and excessive fishing.
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