War in Ukraine leads to mass dolphin deaths in the Black Sea – ecologists

Military activity in the Black Sea, to the south of Ukraine, is causing mass deaths of dolphins, ecologists are warning.

Corpses of dolphins without visible injury have been discovered on the Black Sea coast since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started late February, Ivan Rusev, head of the research department of the Tuzlovsky Limany National Park in the Odessa region, told BBC News Ukraine.  

The ecologist suggested that the animals were dying due to the powerful sonar on Russian warships and submarines. It causes dolphins to lose their hearing and experience orientation problems in the water, which leads to them being washed ashore.

Rusev noted that it is difficult to determine the exact number of dead dolphins now, since the coast is mined, and the carcasses of animals are quickly eaten by predators and birds.

Earlier in May, Turkish scientists also recorded an “extraordinary increase” in dolphin deaths in the Black Sea that were caused by the war in Ukraine, according to the Guardian. More than 80 of the animals were found dead across the country’s western Black Sea, the Turkish Marine Research Foundation (Tudav) reported. 

UN officials have previously warned the war in Ukraine threatens global climate commitments.