Fishermen puzzled

534 dead seals washed up in the Caspian Sea

More than 530 dead seals have washed up on the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan in just two weeks. Since October 24, 534 carcasses have been found on beaches, the Central Asian country's fisheries committee announced on Thursday.

The dead animals are highly endangered Caspian seals. The causes of death could be water pollution and infectious diseases, it said. Only a few seals had become entangled in fishing nets.

Animals on the Red List for years
The Caspian seal is the only seal species found in the Caspian Sea. It has been on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for years.

According to the IUCN, the Caspian seal population has declined by more than 70 percent in the 20th century, mainly due to poaching and water pollution. According to the Kazakh authorities, however, there has recently been an increase again to around 270,000 individuals.

At around 370,000 square kilometers, the Caspian Sea is more than four times the size of Austria and the largest inland body of water in the world. It borders Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iran.

The water level of the inland sea has recently fallen sharply due to rising temperatures as a result of climate change - a further threat to wildlife.