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Environmental watchdog suggests cause for mass seal die-offs on Russia’s Caspian coast

It is noted that specialists have not seen any mechanical damage on the mammals’ bodies from fishing gear

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. A multitude of seals have been found dead on Russia’s Caspian coast in Dagestan. According to preliminary data, the mass die-offs could have been caused by hypoxia (deprivation of oxygen) but an investigation is ongoing, the Russian environmental watchdog’s chief, Svetlana Radionova, said on Monday.

"The scientists are now performing autopsies of the animals. According to the preliminary data, we see signs of hypoxia. This sort of change in the animals’ bodies has been caused by oxygen deprivation," the head of Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources said during a Rossiya-24 TV broadcast.

According to the official, specialists have not seen any mechanical damage on the mammals’ bodies from fishing gear.

Oxygen deprivation could have been caused by natural gas emissions, she noted. "Yes, indeed, the scientists are suggesting this. This is the main theory now," Radionova pointed out.

The results of water tests will be disclosed by the end of this week, but so far no pollution has been recorded. "We don’t see any signs of environmental pollution or any heavy residue in the water <…> At the moment, the scientists are not registering any acute toxic exposure among the animals," she said, noting that the specialists are studying 320 km of the coastline.

"Over the past two years, this is the second such massive case here. Previously, a case like this was registered in Azerbaijan and Dagestan in 2020, when the death of a significant number - nearly 2,000 mammals - was reported," Radionova specified.

Some 2,500 endangered seals were found dead on Russia’s Caspian coast in Dagestan on Sunday, the local Ministry of Natural Resources reported.

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