The Caspian Seal: A Symbol That Is Disappearing

 

Prague, December 1, Free Eurasia.In early November, more than one hundred dead Caspian seals were found along the coast of the Caspian Sea in the Tupkaragan district of Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region. This is not the first case of mass die-offs of seals in the area. In the spring of 2023, more than three hundred dead seals were discovered along Kazakhstan’s Caspian coastline; at that time, the cause of death was attributed to weakened immunity resulting from marine pollution. Overall, in recent years, the alarming statistics in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea have exceeded 2,000 seal deaths.

Assel Baimukanova has been studying Caspian seals for many years and is actively involved in efforts to protect the species at Kazakhstan’s Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology. She is also a member of the national Caspian seal research group.

“We are observing a worrying trend — seal die-offs are becoming regular, and this may be only the tip of the iceberg of much deeper environmental problems,” Assel Baimukanova told Free Eurasia in an interview.

According to her, the Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is the only marine mammal living in the landlocked Caspian Sea. It is an endemic species found nowhere else in the world.

Estimates suggest that the seal appeared in the region between 6 and 20 million years ago, when the Caspian Sea was still connected to the Arctic Ocean.

“There is still no consensus on the origin of the Caspian seal,” Assel explains. “According to one hypothesis, it is descended from seals that lived during the existence of the so-called Pontic Sea — a large ancient body of water that at times had connections to the ocean. After this sea fragmented and the Caspian was formed, the seal remained isolated there. Under this hypothesis, the species’ evolution could span from 6 to 20 million years.

“Another hypothesis suggests that seals entered the Caspian Sea much later, during successive marine transgressions — periods of rising sea levels — migrating through river systems from the Arctic Ocean. In that case, their evolutionary history in the Caspian would be much younger, ranging from several hundred thousand to two million years. But regardless of its origin, the Caspian seal has adapted remarkably well to fluctuations in sea level, changes in surface area, and has survived to the present day.”

The Caspian seal’s closest living relative is considered to be the Baikal seal, or nerpa. However, whole-genome studies indicate that the Caspian seal represents an ancient and distinct evolutionary lineage that diverged from the ancestors of the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) several million years ago. Over time, it developed unique adaptations to the Caspian’s specific conditions, including life in brackish water and extreme temperature fluctuations ranging from −35°C to +40°C.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the population exceeded one million individuals. Today, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), no more than 104,000 to 168,000 Caspian seals remain. The species is officially classified as endangered.

“They have been extremely unlucky,” Assel says. “A whole complex of pressures is bearing down on them: habitat pollution, poaching, shipping, climate change, and the shrinking of the sea. Scientists find it difficult to identify a single dominant factor.”

Northern Caspian — The Cradle of Seal Life

The northern Caspian is the cradle of Caspian seal life and the core breeding area of the species. It is here, on winter ice floes, that seals have given birth for centuries, relying on a fragile balance of water, ice, and silence.

According to Assel, every winter seals gather on the ice in the northern Caspian — near the Seal Islands and along the Ural Furrow — to give birth to the next generation. In spring, when the ice melts, they move to islands and shallow sandbanks to undergo molting.

The conditions in which seal pups are born are critically important for their survival. During the first three weeks of life, seal pups are extremely vulnerable: they must accumulate sufficient fat reserves before losing their white insulating fur. During this period, they are highly dependent on their mothers, and their survival hinges on the mother’s continued presence. Ice break-up and shipping during the lactation period are among the major risk factors.

“In the spring seasons of 2009–2011, the Durneva Islands existed in the northeastern Caspian, in the Komsomol Bay,” Assel recalls. “Up to 25,000 seals hauled out there at the same time. By 2016, their numbers had dropped to around 200. In 2019, only 69 seals were recorded, and in 2021 not a single seal was observed. The islands themselves had turned into desert.

“As sea levels fell, the islands became shallow, and seals began searching for new haul-out sites during the spring and autumn periods. However, seals may be capable of adapting to these changing conditions. They may be able to follow newly forming islands and continue to survive,” she adds.

“In terms of human impact,” Assel says, “the northeastern, Kazakhstani part of the Caspian — where seals haul out in spring and autumn — has long been considered relatively safe due to its remoteness. But as the sea continues to recede, their preferred islands may shift northward, closer to populated areas and oil industry facilities.”

“And when boat traffic increases near haul-out sites — along with the presence of hunting tourists targeting waterfowl and poachers — seals abandon these areas,” she says.

A Symbol That Is Disappearing

Against this troubling backdrop, Kazakhstan began establishing a state nature reserve in the northern Caspian Sea several years ago — the first protected marine area in the country’s history, designed specifically to safeguard the Caspian seal.

The initiative is part of a conservation action plan developed in 2022 based on recommendations from scientists and international environmental organizations. The plan includes a range of legislative measures aimed at protecting habitats and increasing seal numbers, combating marine litter, promoting scientific and educational tourism as a form of eco-tourism, conducting research, creating a unified database on the status of the Caspian seal, and training environmental specialists.

According to Assel, scientists from the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology, together with Kazakhstan’s Fisheries Committee under the Ministry of Agriculture, have developed a detailed road map for conserving the Caspian seal. However, the document is still awaiting approval by the Kazakh government.

Assel and her colleagues believe that the road map could become part of a broader, integrated approach to protecting the species.

“The Caspian seal is not just a symbol of the Caspian Sea,” Assel emphasizes. “It occupies the top of the food chain in this closed ecosystem.”

According to her, there is “no other species capable of replacing the ecological niche of the seal without serious consequences for the balance of the sea.”

Today, she concludes, the fate of this ancient species depends on whether humans will act in time to protect its natural habitat.

Islam Tekushev, Free Eurasia