Staff of the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park have recorded an unprecedented number of dead cetaceans along the Black Sea coast. In a single day, 22 dead animals were found on a 25-kilometer stretch of shoreline.
According to the park, on June 5 the sea washed ashore 20 harbor porpoises, one bottlenose dolphin, and one common dolphin. Ecologists say they have not recorded such a high number of dead dolphins in a single day since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The park stressed that the deaths are not a local phenomenon. Similar cases of dolphin mortality were recorded along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts in late May and early June. In addition, live but severely concussed cetaceans have been found in Odesa Bay.
Specialists link the mass deaths of marine mammals to the consequences of the war. Among the possible causes are pollution from oil products and other toxic substances, as well as the effects of explosions, military sonar operations, and missile launches.
The park notes that military activities have led to the release of oil products, heavy metals, explosives, fragments of ammunition, drones, ships, aircraft, and missiles into the Black Sea, placing additional stress on the marine ecosystem.
Ecologists warn that Black Sea cetacean populations continue to lose their viability and ability to recover. The park emphasized that every case of animal death is being documented as a crime against nature.
