Both Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund are expressing grave concern at the risk of contamination in the Pechora Sea.
In case of any doubts, we mean the twitching variety, which are now back to Siberia, resting before their next extraordinary journey.
But seals prove more adept at undertaking polar missions, including potentially killing intruders, say experts.
With fur on its tail and twice the size of a human being, no one yet knows what the animal is.