Dozens of dolphins died in the Black Sea in a month as a result of hostilities

In a month, dozens of cetaceans died in the Black Sea as a result of hostilities, photo: Ivan Rusev

During March 2024, the deaths of dozens of dolphins were recorded in the Black Sea near the temporarily occupied Crimea, Novorosiisk and the coast of the Krasnodar Territory due to military operations.

This was announced by the head of the research department of the Tuzlivski Lymany National Nature Park, Ivan Rusiev, on Facebook.

«In March 2024, several dozen dolphins have already died in the bays of Sevastopol and other shores of the occupied Crimea. Contused animals with symptoms of damage by sonar ( means of sound detection of underwater objects using acoustic radiation, — note) were also found . Moreover, among the dead are many bottlenose dolphins. To our Odesa shores and the shores of Bulgaria, the current also brought the Azov seas, who died from the war in the occupied waters of the Black Sea,» said Ivan Rusiev.

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He noted that the cause of the death of animals is the activity of Russian submarines and surface boats near Crimea and Novorosiisk. According to him, dolphins began to die en masse in March 2022.

«Previously, before the start of the war, the release of dolphins ashore in March was a very rare phenomenon. And now, during the war and the influence of the military factor, the Russian occupiers that attacked the territory of Ukraine, according to our estimates, taking into account the fact that the sea throws out only 5% of the dead bodies, the real number is already several thousand animals,» said Ivan Rusiev.

It was previously reported that Black Sea dolphins, which traditionally winter in the depths of the sea near the shores of Crimea, Georgia and Turkey, migrated this year due to the influence of ship sonars and bombardment in the shallow waters of the northwestern part of the Black Sea.