Dolphins Dodge Danger in the Bosphorus Strait

Marine biologists call the dolphins swimming off Istanbul the "street kids" of the Bosphorus Strait. They stick together in small groups. And they're rightfully wary of their dangerous world.



If you've ever been to Istanbul, you know that it's a bustling city that straddles Europe and Asia. The divider of the Bosporus Strait and the international shipping lane is only about a mile wide. The Bosporus is so congested it might surprise you to learn it's also home to a community of sea mammals. From Istanbul, NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Once a week, a group of marine biologists sets out in a small boat into the busy Bosporus Strait to count the dolphins in Istanbul. Dr. Ayaka Ozturk is a marine biologist with the Turkish Marine Research Foundation. She and her Turkish colleague, Dr. Ayhan Dede, studied the three species of dolphins commonly found in the Bosporus, a narrow channel which runs some 20 miles through Istanbul from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It's midday when the scientists finally get their first sighting.

"Just in front of the mosque, but probably one animal."

Dr. Ozturk says it's in harbor porpoise, that's barely visible as it comes up for air near a waterside mosque. These are the smallest and most elusive of the Bosporus dolphins.

"They are really scared of humans, boats."

The dolphins have to dodge the constant stream of ferry boats, freighters, and oil tankers which sail through the Strait. The ship traffic and the garbage from the millions of people who live on the banks of Bosporus have left the water horribly polluted. The scientists have given the dolphins a very urban nickname, calling them the Strait Kids of the Bosporus.

"Strait Kids. Why?"

"They just go around, and do whatever they want to. But they don't get protected. They get kind of neglected by the other people."

The marine biologists say a group of some 60 bottlenose dolphins have made the Bosporus their permanent home.

"Look, oh my god, what kind of these..."

In the afternoon, the scientists find these resident dolphins feeding in the open area where the Strait widens to meet the Marmara Sea.

"There are probably maybe 15 to 20 over there, maybe another 15, 20 over here."

The bottlenose dolphins are clustered in groups some 50 yards away from the boat. Their gray dorsal fins, tails, and barrel-shaped bodies shine in the sun when they come up for air. One dolphin leaps out of the water to the delight of Dr. Ozturk.

"Sit down. It's going up."

It's a remarkable sight seeing these creatures so close to the shipyards and Ottoman palaces of Istanbul. Dr. Ozturk says this is one of the only places in the world where you can see dolphins living so close to so many humans.

"Right now, we can say that in spite of all these traffic and population, there are still dolphins now trying to stay in this area. And I think they need to be protected."

The scientists would like to give the scrappy Strait Kids of the Bosporus a helping hand. They hope to convince the Turkish government to protect their marine habitat so that Istanbul's dolphins can continue to live alongside their many human neighbors.

"They are leaving now."