What is Khazar?
Khazar Sea or Caspian Sea, is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea, that is bounded to the northwest by Russia, to the west by Azerbaijan, to the south by Iran, to the southeast by Turkmenistan, and to the northeast by Kazakhstan.
Two years ago, before I move to Vancouver, I started working with a dear friend of mine, Delaram, whom worked for an environmental NGO in Tehran. At that time they were working on this project called, The Darwin Caspian Seal Project. I was working on Sharks of Iran, and she proposed that I help them with translation and some workshops. Since then, I have been passionated about these animals. So here are some information about them.
What are Caspian Seals?
The Caspian seal is the only marine mammal in the Caspian Sea, and is found nowhere else in the world. At the start of the 20th century there were around 1 million Caspian seals. It is an iconic animal for the region, and is a key indicator for the health of the Caspian Sea, upon which the livelihoods of thousands of people depend.
Today the population has fallen by more than 90% and continues to decline. The Caspian Sea faces many human pressures and ecological changes, so urgent conservation measures are needed to prevent the disappearance of this key component of the Caspian ecosystem.
Where are they originated?
The origins of the Caspian seals are still debated by scientists. It used to be thought that the ringed seals isolated in Lakes Ladoga, Saimaa, Caspian and Baikal were populations of Arctic ringed seals (Pusa hispida), which became landlocked in lakes when the ice of the last ice age retreated about 11 thousand years ago. This may, in fact, be the case for the Ladoga and Saimaa seals which are considered to be only subspecies of the Arctic ringed seal. However, recent analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggests that the origin of the Baikal and Caspian seals may be older. It is now thought that Caspian and Baikal seals may have had a common origin with all the seals in the Phocina group, which includes the present-day Harbour and grey seals, as well as the ringed seal species.
What is threatening them?
• Fisheries by-catch is thought to kill about 500 seals a year along the Iranian coast every year.
• An epidemic of canine distemper virus (CDV) was diagnosed as the cause of the deaths of several thousand seals in 2000, and there are concerns that CDV outbreaks could recur and continue to threaten the population.
• The levels of DDT in Caspian seal blubber have been relatively high, and are probably the cause of low fertility in Caspian seal females.
• The comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi, actually native to the north-west Atlantic, manages to invade new waters via ship’s ballast. It is carnivorous, consuming zooplankton and thereby undermining the basis for the foodchain in non-native environments. It is believed to be having the severest effects in the south Caspian, where it is combing with intensive fisheries to reduce the stoks of kilka (sprat) and other small pelagic fish.
• Loss of habitat seems to be primarily due to human interference and disturbance, due either to coastal development for housing or industry or to frequent disturbance of a haul-out site by poachers or fishermen.
What should be done?
The first and foremost conservation measure to be taken is to stop all deliberate killing of Caspian seals. Presently, The Caspian seals are classified as endangered on the IUCN red list of species threatened with extinction. They are being slaughtered, and caught in nets. Their habitat is being destroyed. Action must be taken in order to stop the reduction of their population.
I’ve chosen this topic, not only because I am from Iran and so are the Caspian Seals, but also to let the world know what they are and if they are disappeared from the surface of the earth, it will be the world’s loss. No matter where we’re from, and where we live, it is our obligation to protect and save these creatures.
Images:http://cdn1.arkive.org/Juvenile-Caspian-seal-on-ice-portrait.jpg
Source:http://www.caspianseal.org/info
