О каспийских тюленях

The Caspian seal is an endemic and the only representative of mammals in the fauna of the Caspian Sea, which is a predator and a representative of the upper trophic link. Its main food is fish – mainly sprats, gobies, aterines, as well as shellfish and shrimp.

In the Kazakh sector of the sea, the habitats of the Caspian seal capture the waters of the Northern Caspian and the coastal waters of the Middle Caspian. When moving north (south), seals use the "migration corridor" from the border with Turkmenistan to the mouth of the Zhaiyk River (Ural) along the coast of Kazakhstan.

During the warm season, seals live all over the Caspian Sea and do not form any large clusters. In November, the migration of seals from the Southern and Middle Caspian Sea to the Northern One usually ends, and seals can be found throughout the waters of the Northeastern Caspian Sea, where they feed until freezing.

Habitats from the end of November to the end of December are shallow areas of the northeastern part of the sea, from the Komsomolets Bay to the delta of the Zhaiyk River (Ural), and are used by seals for movement, fattening (feeding) and recreation.

During the ice formation period and during the ice season (from the end of November to March) seals actively use the western and eastern parts of the Northern Caspian, its central water area, as well as the area of the Ural Furrow (from December to March).

Reproduction, feeding of cubs, mating and molting of the Caspian seal takes place on the ice and islands of the Northern Caspian in January-April.

Mature females in winter come to the ice for puppies and feeding cubs. The female brings one cub, less often two. The lactation period in most cases begins in the second half of January and ends at the end of February.

In the second half of February, mating takes place, then in March-April, the adult livestock molts.

The area of ice deposits and the density of seals on them varies depending on ice conditions. With the disappearance of the ice cover, seals leave the Northern Caspian and switch to active feeding.

Today, the population of Caspian seals is about 311 thousand individuals.

In order to preserve the population of the Caspian seal, the State is taking a number of measures. In particular, as part of the execution of the instructions of the Head of State "on the creation of a state natural reserve for the conservation of the Caspian seal population", a project of a natural-scientific justification for the creation of a reserve has been developed and a feasibility study for the creation of a specially protected natural area will be developed in the future.

Currently, funding is provided for the development of a feasibility study as part of the clarification of the republican budget for 2023.

On the basis of a Natural Science and Feasibility study, it is planned to create a state natural reserve in the Caspian Sea in the form of a legal entity by July 2024.