More than a hundred dead dolphins were found in the Black Sea and other shores of Crimea.
What Happened: Ivan Rusev, the Head of the Research Department of the Tuzly Estuaries National Park and Doctor of Ecology, in a Facebook post on Monday, said the dolphins were possibly affected by Russian sonars.
Rusev said while more than 100 dead dolphins have already been registered, the actual death toll is much higher, "with scientists believing the number exceeds 1,000."
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In a blatant attack on Russia, Rusev said the mass death of the animals is occurring even with the relatively low activity of the Russian fleet. “Crazy barbarians – and prophages, murderers – have been destroying our cities, and towns and killing people for 432 days,” he said.
"Our enemy is the Moscow junta, the Russian fascist regime, which has waged an occupation war against the peaceful Ukrainian people. The racist mutants and invaders cannot appreciate nature, culture, or free people.”
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Why It Matters: Sonar systems used by naval forces for detecting underwater objects have been linked to the deaths of numerous dolphins. The aquatic animal uses sonar to navigate and communicate, and the powerful sound waves produced by naval sonar cause disorientation and even internal injuries in the animals.
The incidents have also raised concerns about the long-term effects on dolphin populations.
Meanwhile, as per Russia’s ‘open’ sources, there have been 77 dead cetaceans discovered on the Crimea coast since January. Bottlenose dolphins have the highest number of deaths, exceeding the Azov and common dolphins, which were leading the category in 2022.
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