Russia uses whales to defend naval base?

Russia hopes to train whales to protect its naval base and even destroy the intruder.

According to the Zvezda news agency, the Russian army plans to train whales to protect its naval base as well as assist divers in deep water. The plan lies in Moscow's research effort on the welfare of these animals in the military.

"With the ability to detect fast, white whales can be used to protect at the entrance to naval bases ," Zvezda said. 'But they are sensitive animals that can easily get sick after long periods of time in cold waters.'

However, the whale's ability to perform military missions is believed to be unreliable by seals or dolphins.

The study, conducted with the Greenland seals and bottlenose dolphins of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shows that seals still retain the ability to memorize all commands even when the training is interrupted for one year.

"They can identify torpedoes and lift objects from deep water ," Zvezda said. 'Seals can also interact flexibly with divers, as it is capable of supporting tooling and distinguishing divers familiar with strangers.'

Another source told the Russian Defense Ministry last year that they had bought five bottlenose dolphins for three to five years, but did not say what they were intended for.

The United States is also said to use marine animals to look for missing people at sea, to mine mines and to lift objects from the seafloor. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union used seals and whales for military purposes.