Do whales live in the Black Sea? Special purpose whales protect Sochi

I was introduced to a letter from Smena reader V. Karataev from Voronezh. He writes to the editor: “...In the fall I rested on Black Sea coast. I'm a big fan fishing, made friends with an old fisherman there. Once he told me, among other things, that there were whales in the Black Sea. But he himself does not know any details about this. Returning home, I mentioned this fact to my friends in the workshop, and they laughed at me... I ask the editors to help me find out whether the old fisherman was right.”

I remembered reading something similar in one of the old magazines.

And indeed, while reviewing the issues of the magazine “Nature and Hunting,” which was edited by the famous ichthyologist L.P. Sabaneev, I found in the May book for 1880 the note “Capture of a whale in the Black Sea.”

Here are excerpts from it: “The Novorossiysk Telegraph reports from Batum the following details about the capture of a whale in the Black Sea.

On Saturday, April 19, a rumor spread throughout the city that some monster had been thrown out by the sea near the Churuk-su fortification; it turned out that it was a whale that had swam into the Black Sea waters through unknown means. He ran aground at a distance, as they say, no more than 50-60 fathoms from the shore. Finding itself stranded, the unfortunate animal made futile efforts to move and only terribly muddied the waters.

By order of the officer, a platoon of soldiers was brought in and fired a volley at the monster. Nine bullets hit him in the head; he was mortally wounded, but in his death throes he began to rebel even more. They equipped feluccas, and the fishermen set off with ropes to pull him ashore. For a long time they tried to get closer to the whale. The waves produced by its tail almost knocked over the felucca... Finally, when the exhausted whale became somewhat quiet, they managed to throw the end of it over its tail. More than two hundred people began to drag him. They say that when, having somewhat regained consciousness, he swung his tail with force, all those dragged fell to the ground.

In the end, the whale was dragged ashore dead..."

At the end of the note there was a note:

“New news has recently been received that, in addition to the dead whale, off the coast of the Caucasus local residents We saw another whale heading north."

I was interested in this question. To verify the authenticity of the above, I contacted the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography - VNIRO.

The superimposed fact really took place,” said Candidate of Sciences B. A. Zenkovich. - Moreover, the skeleton of this whale was in one of the museums in the south of our country for a long time. The whale killed in the Black Sea was one of the minke whales, which usually do not exceed ten meters in length and weigh no more than six tons. Their meat is edible.

The whale could enter the Black Sea from Mediterranean Sea, where whales are not uncommon today. They could appear in the waters of the Black Sea even now, if there was not such a large movement in the relatively narrow straits.

The whale could exist in the Black Sea. There is enough food for him here. I would eat anchovy first of all. But the whale cannot reproduce in the waters of the Black Sea: the water temperature here is not high enough for it. As you can see, the old fisherman was right.

I was introduced to a letter from Smena reader V. Karataev from Voronezh. He writes to the editor: “...In the fall I vacationed on the Black Sea coast. I am a big fan of fishing, I became friends with an old fisherman there. Once he told me, among other things, that there were whales in the Black Sea. But he himself does not know any details about this. Returning home, I mentioned this fact to my friends in the workshop, and they laughed at me... I ask the editors to help me find out whether the old fisherman was right.”

I remembered reading something similar in one of the old magazines.

Here are excerpts from it: “The Novorossiysk Telegraph reports from Batum the following details about the capture of a whale in the Black Sea.

In the end, the whale was dragged ashore dead..."

At the end of the note there was a note:

“New news has recently been received that, in addition to the killed whale, local residents saw another whale off the coast of the Caucasus, which headed north.”

I was interested in this question. To verify the authenticity of the above, I contacted the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography - VNIRO.

The whale could have entered the Black Sea from the Mediterranean Sea, where whales are not uncommon even today. They could appear in the waters of the Black Sea even now, if there was not such a large movement in the relatively narrow straits.

In the morning I ran to Sochi seaport. This cruise harbor, built for the Winter Olympics, is currently one of the largest on the Black Sea coast. During the Olympic Games, “floating” hotels came here and brought spectators. In the post-Olympic period, the port was supposed to become one of the main tourist cruise harbors on the Russian Black Sea coast and there is still hope that this will happen. Since “opening the port” for regional maritime tourism did not work out for the Winter Olympics, perhaps the idea will come true for the summer 2018 FIFA World Cup. And for Crimean fans, they will finally open a regular line of high-speed ships between Sochi, Yalta and Sevastopol, which was very popular in Soviet times...
I came to the Black Sea coast to look not at ships, but at whales. Of course, such giants are not found in the Black Sea in “free swimming”, but before Olympic Games whales were brought to Sochi. Not far from the entrance to the port, a huge underwater enclosure was built for two beautiful beluga whales. Did these giants fulfill the task of ensuring the safety of the sea harbor of the Olympic capital? It is clear that they are trained to detect various kinds of underwater saboteurs and other “foreign objects” under water. You could say that beluga whales are underwater military personnel. They are said to be trained to alert when saboteur divers or underwater objects approach a protected vessel or structure.

Just above the seashore there are onlookers.
— Are you hoping to see beluga whales?
- Yes, my neighbors saw it yesterday...
These spring days, “beluga whales on a walk” in the Black Sea were seen several times. Against concert hall The “festival” couple of giants even staged a small “circus” performance away from the shore. Moreover, beluga whales swam almost to the beach itself and allowed themselves to be photographed. They say that someone even managed to pet the beluga whales. However, there is nothing sensational in this: beluga whales, although menacing in appearance, are very good-natured creatures and are quite trainable. In the Dolphinarium of the Sochi Riviera Park, huge beluga whales have been performing successfully for a long time. According to the dolphinarium staff, these whales are very playful creatures and very intelligent animals. By the way, beluga whales easily communicate with dolphins, and, probably, even become family friends...
However, in the port waters, beluga whales have a different task. They delight onlookers only during a walk; the rest of the time the beluga whales are on duty. Someone is pushing me in the back:
- Look, there they are!!!
Beauties! Very close to the shore, a beluga shows off its sides. Experts note that these animals adapt well to new conditions and have become well accustomed to the Black Sea water. Fact - we got the hang of it!
And while the beluga whales are playing in sight, I’ll tell you more about these amazing creatures. Belukha refers to toothed whales, a rather peaceful and interesting animal that lives in the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean, in the Bering, Baltic and Okhotsk Seas. In the Black Sea, beluga whales are “at work,” although they seem to like it here...

By the way, chasing schools of fish, these giants sometimes even swim into the mouths of the rivers - Amur, Yenisei and Ob. Whales migrate very long distances in the spring to the shores and shallow bays for food, and return to their habitats in the fall. The beluga whale's body length reaches six meters and its weight is two tons. Interestingly, females are smaller than males in size and weight. Beluga whales also make beautiful sounds, transmitting information to each other. Experts say such sounds are “almost a song” of whistles, squeals, chirps and roars. Beluga whales move beautifully and express their emotions in this “dance”...
As I already said, beluga whales off the coast of Sochi lingered after the Olympics. Now they continue to fulfill their mission special purpose for coastal protection and, apparently, will stay in Sochi until 2018, when the resort city will host the World Cup matches. These good-natured and smart whales will be entrusted with protecting the city from the sea, who will, I hope, meet the sea “Comets” with fans from Crimea.

And at this time

A local resident recently called the Adler division of the Southern Search and Rescue Team of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and reported that two baby bottlenose dolphins had become entangled in nets at sea. Rescuers immediately came to their aid on a boat. In Imereti Bay they discovered the captives and released them, spreading the nets.

This is the first case of animal rescue this year. And last year, rescuers twice had to remove dolphins from nets. And every time the animals become entangled in the net, their fellow tribesmen wait for them, worrying about the fate of the captives. It was the same this time. Dolphins do not leave their own in trouble. It’s a pity we couldn’t save two dolphins who ended up with a soulless person. We talk about this a lot

The Black Sea is one of the most sparsely inhabited seas on earth. There are only thirty-seven kilograms of biological mass per cubic kilometer of Black Sea water. This happens because life in the Black Sea is concentrated only in a narrow coastal strip in the area of shallow depths. There is no life below two hundred meters.

Algae and flora of the Black Sea

But despite the comparative poverty of marine flora and fauna, there are more than 250 species of algae alone in the Black Sea. There are algae that live near the shore - coraline, cystoseira, sea lettuce, laurencia, there are those that need depth - phyllophora, or sea grapes, and there are those that simply float in the water, for example peridenea. Interestingly, it is she who creates the autumn glow of the sea. Along with the peridenea, luminous tiny predators, noctilucas, or nocturnals, also live in the water. If you filter them from water and dry them, they will still glow with cold light. The glow is caused by a substance that scientists call “luciferin”, in honor of the lord of hell, Lucifer.

Black Sea jellyfish

At night, some species of jellyfish and ctenophores also glow. Most often in the sea there are jellyfish with the names Aurelia and Cornerot. Cornerot is the largest Black Sea jellyfish, and Aurelia is the smallest. If aurelia is rarely more than 30 cm in diameter, then the size of the dome of the cornerot can reach half a meter. Aurelia is not poisonous, but cornet can cause a burn similar to a nettle burn. The burn may cause a slight burning sensation, redness, and sometimes blistering. In order not to experience the effect of the poison of this beautiful jellyfish with a slightly purple dome, when meeting it, it is enough to move it away from you with your hand, grasping the upper part of the dome, which has no tentacles.

Although there are vacationers who deliberately seek encounters with stinging jellyfish. They believe in healing power Cornerot poison. It is believed that if you rub a person’s body with jellyfish, you can be cured of radiculitis. It's a delusion. Such therapy does not bring relief, but causes suffering to both the jellyfish and the patient.

Black Sea shellfish: mussels, rapana, oysters

The most common shellfish in the Black Sea are, of course, mussels, brine, oysters and scallops. All of them are edible. Oysters and mussels are specially bred. Oysters live up to 30 years. They are very tenacious: they can survive without the sea for more than two weeks. Maybe that's why they are eaten alive. Oysters on the Black Sea coast of Kuban are relatively rare. However, all the coastal stones and port piers are covered with mussels. Mussels They live for 7-10 years and the taste is not as refined as oysters. They need to be boiled or fried before eating. Sometimes you can find a small pearl in a large mussel.; It is usually pink in color and irregular in shape. Mussels are real living filters. They pass through great amount sea water. At the same time, everything that was contained in this water accumulates in their bodies. Therefore, it is not recommended to feast on mussels caught in the port or near sewage treatment plant effluents.

Scallops also interesting in their own way. This mollusk can move like a missile. With force, the scallop slams the doors of its shell, and the stream of water carries it a meter or two forward. Scallops have many eyes. There are about a hundred of them. Why he needs them is unclear. This mollusk is blind. If an eye is removed, a new one will grow in its place.

Arrived from the Far East along with ships to the Black Sea rapana clam. Now it has filled the entire coast of the Caucasus. Rapana is edible. You can make a delicious soup from it, and its meat resembles sturgeon. Rapana is a predator, and the objects of its hunt are mussels and oysters. Young rapana drill into the shell of the victim and drink the contents, and adult individuals secrete mucus, which paralyzes the valves of the mollusk and allows the rapana to eat the host. It is believed that rapana is the closest relative of those same extinct mollusks from whose shells the ancient Phoenicians obtained their famous purple dye. The discovery of purple is attributed to the Phoenician god Melqart. One day he and his beloved dog were walking along the seashore. The dog was rummaging in the coastal algae. Suddenly Melkart noticed that a trickle of blood was flowing from the dog’s mouth. He called his pet and tried to wipe away the blood. It turned out that there was no wound. The dog just chewed the shell, from which purple-bloody paint leaked out. Melkart passed on the secret of mining to the Phoenicians, who, during the existence of their people, were able to completely process all relatives of rapana into paint.

On the Black Sea there are also crabs. “Spider”, marbled, stone, grassy, xantho, redbark. There are 18 species in total. Here they do not reach large sizes. The largest is the red-barked one. But even it rarely reaches a size of more than 20 cm in diameter.

Fishes of the Black Sea

There are approximately 180 species of fish that live in the Black Sea. Beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, herring, anchovy (Black Sea anchovy), sprat, sprat, mullet, red mullet, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder, bonito, tuna. Very rarely swims into the Black Sea swordfish. Found at sea and acne- river and sea. Among the fish that are not of great commercial importance, we can note bull, ruffe, pipefish, seahorse, stickleback, sea dragon, greenfinch- a small bright fish capable of crunching shellfish shells with its teeth, sea cock (triglu), monkfish.

Previously, as many as 3 species lived in the Black Sea mullet, but due to fishing and sea pollution, the number of the mullet herd began to decline catastrophically. To improve the situation, from Sea of Japan was brought bearing. This is also a mullet, but more unpretentious. It acclimatized perfectly, multiplied and now became an object of fishing for fishermen. Fortunately, the population of Black Sea mullet in last years is gradually recovering.

Astrologer, which is sometimes called sea cow, burrows deep into the mud, exposing to the surface only one antennae, reminiscent of a worm. With this antennae it attracts small fish and swallows them.

Pipefish And sea Horse They differ from other fish in that their females spawn eggs not into the water, but into special skin folds on the back of the males, and the males carry the eggs until the fry hatch. It is also interesting that the skates' eyes and spines can rotate autonomously and look in different directions.

Sharks There are two species in the Black Sea. Katran(spiny shark, dogfish) and small spotted shark scyllium(cat shark). Katran can sometimes reach 2 meters, and the cat shark never grows more than a meter. Both katran and scyllium are not dangerous for humans, although in relation to fish they behave like real evil and cruel predators. They eat everything that moves, even if they themselves are full. Katran meat is quite tasty. Fins, liver and balyk are especially good. Katran's liver contains a substance that helps patients with certain forms of cancer. There is even a drug called “katrex”, which is made from the liver of a Black Sea shark.

Whales and dolphins in the Black Sea

The Black Sea is home to not only fish, but also sea animals. Over the past 80 years, the sea has been visited twice whales. Three species of dolphins live permanently: Harbour porpoise(Azovka), bottlenose dolphin And common white sided. Moreover, the azovka and the white-sided duck have been living on our planet for 10 million years. Bottlenose dolphin is younger. She has been roaming the seas for about 5 million years. Real old-timers of the ocean. For comparison: man appeared on Earth about 350 thousand years ago. So it is quite possible that dolphins are our older brothers in mind. At least dolphins score 190 points in intelligence tests, humans are only 25 points higher. But these are human tests. I wonder how many points we would score in a dolphin test?

For the last 30 years, scientists have been concerned with the question: do dolphins have their own language? It seems that the search for the dolphin alphabet was not crowned with success. People have never learned to distinguish between individual “letters” and “words” in a dolphin whistle. Or maybe their language doesn’t consist of “words.” It is known that dolphins “see” in the water using an ultrasonic locator. They send a signal, it is reflected from the obstacle and comes back. Then in the dolphin’s brain it is transformed into an image, a picture. So why use words in this case? I just took it and sent it to my friend not a telegram, but a photograph. Maybe this is what is happening? There is no answer to this question yet. But dolphins are constantly studied in special dolphinariums, one of which is located in Maly Utrish.

Dolphins often come close to the shore and allow people to play with them. Games are games, but dolphins have impressive teeth, and the beast weighs about 250 kg. In the ocean, dolphins are not afraid even of sharks. They accelerate in the water and ram their noses into dangerous fish. Of course, when you see a dolphin near the shore, you want to make friends with it, but it’s better to think about what if it’s hungry and comes to hunt for mullet. You would like it if someone deprived you of your lunch, and even demanded that you play with him. Let those who mastered the depths long before people appeared on land rule the sea.

Sometimes sick animals are thrown ashore, as if asking for protection from the inhabitants of the land. In 1994, a real epidemic raged at sea. A virus similar to the causative agent of measles destroyed many of these cheerful and playful servants of Neptune. For quite a long time, dolphins have been the object of fishing. For example, in 1952, 300 thousand bottlenose dolphins were caught. Since 1966, dolphin fishing has been prohibited, although many of them die, suffocating in fishing nets.