Why Did 50,000 Black Sea Dolphins Die Massively After the Ukraine War?

Russian Warship's Use of Underwater Sonar Blamed for Dolphins' Loss of Direction and Hearing Problems Causing Harm

[Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] It appears that underwater sonar devices used by Russian warships are driving dolphins inhabiting the Black Sea to death. Some analyses suggest that the actual number of dead dolphins could reach tens of thousands when including those carcasses not witnessed by humans.

On the 25th (local time), according to the British newspaper The Times and others, Ukrainian authorities and the scientific community discovered 95 dead dolphins and striped dolphins along the Black Sea coast accessible to civilians since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February this year.

Reports indicate that since the war, the number of dead dolphins found along the 44 km stretch of the Black Sea coastline that has not been blockaded has been increasing. Autopsies on the dolphin carcasses reportedly found no external injuries. Scientist Ivan Rusev stated, "It is estimated that about 50,000 dolphins have died in the Black Sea."

The cause driving the dolphins to death is attributed to underwater sonar equipment used by the military. The sonar devices disrupt the dolphins' echolocation abilities and cause auditory abnormalities, leading to their deaths. Echolocation is the ability to determine the location of surrounding objects by the returning sound waves, which can be easily disturbed by the low-frequency signals emitted by sonar equipment. Dolphins whose echolocation is interfered with lose their sense of direction, preventing them from feeding or avoiding underwater obstacles, putting them in danger.

Serhii Kostenko, Prosecutor General of the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, stated, "According to prior research, the cause of the mass dolphin deaths appears to be the sonar devices used by the Russian Black Sea Fleet." Pavlo Goldin, a researcher at the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences, also pointed out, "The Russian Black Sea Fleet has numerous noise sources such as sonar devices and missile launches," adding, "Flights of fighter jets and others can even lead to hearing damage in dolphins."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.