At least 60 ice seals have been found dead along the coast of Alaska in the US.
The marine mammals were found stranded on the beaches of the Bering and Chukchi seas, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
The agency said that its branch NOAA Fisheries is investigating reports of "unusually large numbers" of dead ice seals in the area, according to CNN.
It is currently unclear what has caused their deaths.
Ice seals, which are bearded, ringed and spotted, are named as such because they live in the Alaskan Arctic.
NOAA said it received multiple reports of dead ice seals on Monday from northwest Norton Sound.
A single hunter from Kotlik counted 18 seal carcasses along 11 miles of shore and dozens more on the south coast of Stuart Island.
NOAA fisheries told the broadcaster that it is working with its partners in the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network to photograph and perform necropsies on the animals.
Some of the dead seals were reported to have lost hair, NOAA fisheries said.
The agency added that it has received reports saying the seals are unusually thin this year.
However, more examination needs to be done to determine if the hair loss is part of decomposition or abnormal moulting.
Abnormal moulting symptoms were present in the 2011-2016 Unusual Mortality Event, where at least 657 ice seals in northern and western Alaska were affected.
