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Mass deaths of Caspian seals and the shrinking Caspian Sea

The Caspian seal, the only marine mammal of the Caspian Sea, has lost more than 90 percent of its numbers over a century. In January 2026 the sea level fell to -29.11 m, the lowest on record, after falling by about 30 cm a year over the previous five years.

From October to December 2025 at least 566 dead seals were found on the shores of Dagestan, 183 in Kazakhstan, 36 in Iran and 10 in Azerbaijan; Turkmenistan gave no figures. In April 2026 a further 191 dead animals were counted on the Tyub-Karagan peninsula in Kazakhstan. In late April another 37 were found on Kulaly Island, and in May 35 more in the Tupkaragan district. Tests ruled out 21 infectious diseases; Dagestan's authorities point to gas emissions from the seabed, while environmentalists cite poachers' nets and pollution.

Numbers with sources

Species

Needs

• animal rescue
• veterinary care
• habitat

Who is helping

Organisations that, according to their own publications, work on this event (2). Donations go directly to each organisation's own website - GLOBURNS does not handle payments.

• Caspian Seal Research and Rehabilitation Centre
  Kazakhstan's only rescue and rehabilitation centre for Caspian seals, opened in Aktau in 2019. It takes in injured and weakened seals from the coast and takes part in…
• Kaspika - Caspian Seals Conservation Agency
  A Kazakhstan-based public initiative for the conservation of the Caspian seal: it monitors coastlines, documents die-offs, runs education work and cooperates with the…

Sources

• kaspika.org kaspika.org/en/2026/01/05/on-death-of-caspian-seals-at-end-of-2025/
• kaspika.org kaspika.org/en/2026/04/17/mass-stranding-of-caspian-seals-2/
• aa.com.tr aa.com.tr/en/world/over-320-dead-seals-discovered-on-caspian-sea-coast-in-dagestan/3760468
• report.az report.az/en/amp/ecology/researcher-caspian-sea-level-hits-48-year-record-low
• pinnipeds.org pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/the-phocid-seals/caspian-seal
• kaspika.org kaspika.org/en/2026/04/26/monitoring-of-cadpian-seals-on-kulaly-island-2/
• interfax.kz interfax.kz/en/news/79523
• interfax.kz interfax.kz/en/news/80125
• kaspika.org kaspika.org/en/tag/mass-stranding/
• iranintl.com iranintl.com/en/202606225246
• en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_seal

Seed record, before editorial verification. Every number links to its source; report errors on the Corrections page. Methodology · Corrections

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