According to a December 4th Reuters report, up to 2,500 seals have been found dead on the Caspian seacoast. An initial investigation eliminated environmental toxins or injury.  Officials are attributing death to "natural causes".  It is unclear how many of the endangered Caspian Seal (Pusa caspica) population remains with numbers ranging from 70,000 to 300,000.

It is hoped that the evaluations in progress will establish whether mass mortality was due to H5N1 avian influenza that has resulted in mortality in seals off the coast of Maine and a sea lion in Norway.