Dolphins a Casualty of War

It may not surprise you that several thousand dolphins have become casualties of the Ukraine war. But these are not military-trained animals like the Russian-trained dolphins we mentioned in the June issue of Undercurrent. According to Ivan Rusev, research director at Ukraine's Tuzla Estuaries National Nature Park, thousands of wild dolphins are washing up dead in the Black Sea.

Dead dolphins have been found with war-related injuries such as burn marks from bombs and landmines, as well as internal injuries. Some animals show signs of starvation.

Last year, an international team of more than 100 scientists estimated there could be a quarter of a million dolphins in the Black Sea, but how many now is unknown. The Turkish Marine Research Foundation has also raised the alarm about the effects of the war on marine ecosystems in the area.

In addition to marine pollution, intense ship noise and low-frequency sonars are severe threats to marine species, especially dolphins using sound-activated navigation. Oil and gas leaks from sunken military ships like the Russian flagship, the Moskva, could also damage the ecosystem.