Thriller and tragedy together Almost 2.500 seals have been found dead on the coast of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia, setting off alarm bells for ecological - and other - organizations in the region.
Officials who examined them said that there was no sign of violent death.
Initially about 700 dead seals were reported, but after the investigation, a much higher number was revealed, and the count continues.
Caspian seals have been classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2008.
Zaur Gapizov, head of the Caspian Environmental Protection Centre, said the seals probably died about two weeks ago.
"There is no evidence to suggest that the animals were killed or caught in fishing nets," he said."
The Dagestan region's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment wrote on Telegram that a large number were found between the mouths of two rivers, the Sulaq and Surinka.
Experts have collected samples from the seals and the ministry said the reasons for the deaths will be ascertained when laboratory results come out.
The Caspian Sea seal population has been drastically reduced over the decades by excessive hunting and industrial pollution.
The Caspian Sea Environmental Protection Center cites 70.000 seals, while in the last century, they numbered more than a million.
Source: skai.gr
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