
Morethan130endangeredsealshave beenfounddeadonKazakhbeachesof theCaspianSea, officials said Wednesday."Carcasses ofdeadsealshave beenfound," a spokesman forKazakhstan's ecology ministry told AFP.His ministry said 131sealshad beenfounddeadonCaspianSeabeachesin the country's west.
Autopsies will be carried out and Kazakh environmental experts said soil and water samples from the area would be analysed.
TheCaspianseal, the only such species present in theCaspianSea, the world's largest inland body of water, was placed by the Kazakh government in November 2020onthe list of endangered species threatened with extinction.
TheCaspianSea is bounded by five countries: Russia,Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan.
The seal population of theCaspianSea has for decades suffered from over-hunting and the effects of industrial pollution.
Experts say there are now about 68,000Caspianseals, down frommorethanone million in the early 20th century.
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