Posted on9. June 2022, 18:04
Explosions, sea mines, the noise of ships, sound waves and oil spills are ravaging the Black Sea ecosystem. Reportedly, thousands of dolphins fell victim to the war.
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The war in Ukraine is said to have killed thousands of dolphins.
Facebook / Iwan Rusiew
The animals are washed ashore, some with serious injuries.
Facebook / Iwan Rusiew
Ship noise and sonar sound waves also affect animals that communicate through sound and use them for orientation.
Facebook / Iwan Rusiew
Many Black Sea dolphins fell victim to the Russian war in Ukraine, as reported, among others, by New York Times. They strike the shores of Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Georgia and Romania, that is, all countries bordering the Black Sea.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 100 dead dolphins have been ejected on the Turkish border alone. A Ukrainian biologist and research director at Ukraine’s Tuzla Estuaries National Nature Park says data collected across Europe show that a total of “several thousand dolphins have already died.”
Rusev documents the environmental impact and suffering of mammals from the beginning of the invasion. On his Facebook page, he shows the dolphins washed ashore with burned bombs and mines, as well as with internal injuries. Animals also become disoriented due to the sounds of the explosion and do not eat for days.
Explosions, mines and noise from ships endanger animals
The Turkish Marine Research Foundation also warns of a growing number of dead dolphins caused by war. In addition to overfishing, climate change and pollution, the war now also affects marine animals and threatens biodiversity, the foundation warns in a press release. Leaking oil and sea mines also pose a serious threat to the ecosystem, and noise from ships and the use of sonars that emit sound pulses also have an impact on animals as dolphins use sound to communicate and orientate themselves.
Scientists estimate that before the war, the number of dolphins in the Black Sea was over 250,000. Only after the end of the war, the number of animal deaths and destruction of the entire ecosystem will be accurately measured.