アザラシが謎の大量死、カスピ海に死骸３００頭漂着

【モスクワＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシア当局は11日、世界最大の湖カスピ海の浜辺に希少なアザラシ約300頭の死骸が漂着したことを受け、その謎の大量死を調査していることを明らかにした。（ロシア・マハチカラのカスピ海の浜辺で見つかったカスピカイアザラシの死骸。漁業庁北カフカス支部提供の動画より）
　同国漁業庁によると、カスピカイアザラシの死骸計２７２頭が、ダゲスタン共和国の各地で見つかった。中には妊娠していた個体もいたという。
　同庁はＡＦＰに対し、大量死の原因として「感染症」と「外的要因」の可能性を挙げ、今後さらに多くの死骸が見つかる恐れもあると明かした。
　アザラシは何十年も前から、カスピ海における乱獲と産業汚染の影響の犠牲になってきた。研究者らによると、カスピカイアザラシは２０世紀初頭には１００万頭以上生息していたが、今では７万頭前後にまで減っているという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/12/14-11:49）

Russian authorities said Friday they were investigating the mysterious death of nearly 300 endangered seals that had been discovered washed up on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Between Sunday and Thursday, 272 dead Caspian seals had been found at a number of locations in the southern region of Dagestan including its regional capital Makhachkala and Derbent, another major city, said the state fisheries agency Rosrybolovstvo.
Some of the seals were pregnant.
An agency spokeswoman told AFP that more dead seals could yet be discovered.
A team of experts arrived from Moscow to help conduct an investigation.
The fisheries agency said infectious disease as well as external reasons could be behind the mass die-off and an animal abuse probe would be launched.
The Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water, is bounded by five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan.
Seals have for decades suffered from over-hunting and the effects of industrial pollution in the Caspian Sea.
Experts say there are now about 70,000 Caspian seals, down from more than one million in the early 20th century.
As well as the seals and other endemic species including the famed beluga sturgeon, the Caspian Sea boasts vast energy reserves.
Pollution from the extraction of oil and gas there, along with declining water levels due to climate change, pose a threat to many species and put the future of the sea itself at risk.
The UN Environment Programme has warned that the Caspian suffers from an enormous burden of pollution.