The Caspian Sea seal is the only mammal in the Caspian which comes from the generation of the North Pole seals.

Its scientific name is Pusa Caspica and its main source of food is kilka fish.

The seals are dispersed both in the northern and southern hemispheres of the Caspian Sea. In fact, their population largely depends upon the abundance of kilka fish.

According to the statistics presented by the Russians in 1980 the population of the seals was around 360 to 400. Today, it is far below the figure.

Various factors have contributed to the reduction in the number of these mammals in the Caspian Sea, the most important of which is a reduction in the amount of kilka fish due to excessive fishing by natives and the increase in the number of Mnemiopsis leidyi, one of the species of comb-jelly, which uses the same sources of food kilka fish need to survive.

Pollutants like DDT and PCB, oil extraction, parasites, viruses like canine distemper and incorrect methods of fishing are among other factors that have led to a reduction in the number of the Caspian Sea seals.

These factors have led the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to introduce the Caspian seal as a species in danger of extinction.