Warrior dolphins protect US military base

The US military and many other countries use dolphins to protect naval bases because they possess many superior capabilities.

Dolphins are known for their extraordinary intelligence. They are friendly, curious, and playful mammals. In fact, dolphins are quick learners, talented imitators, and exhibit self-awareness and problem-solving skills. As a result, along with many other marine mammals, dolphins are used by militaries around the world for a variety of purposes, including protecting nuclear submarine bases, according to IFL Science . The US military keeps dolphins at the King's Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia and the Kitsap Naval Base near Seattle . There, dolphins help protect a quarter of the US's available nuclear arsenal.

Dolphins are used for many military missions. (Photo: Dolphin and You).

The US Navy began testing different species of dolphins in 1959, along with sea lions, turtles, birds, sharks, and rays, to evaluate their abilities. The process looked at their sensory and physical capabilities, as well as their ability to be trained. Not all animals were trainable and useful for military purposes. Over the years, potential users narrowed down to bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions.

Training efforts were conducted through the Naval Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) . In the 1980s, more than 100 dolphins lived at naval facilities across the United States, operating on a budget of more than $8 million. Dolphins were trained to carry cameras in their mouths, carry messages, and even locate enemy divers. Similarly, sea lions were taught to collect mines from the sea floor, while beluga whales patrolled the waters, looking for threats. From 1986 to 1988, six dolphins escorted a Kuwaiti oil tanker through the Persian Gulf. In 2003, other dolphins helped allied forces clear mines in the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.

Dolphins have been selected for military use for a variety of reasons related to their intelligence, physical capabilities, and high sociality. Dolphins have evolved to be able to map their environment through echolocation, which allows them to 'see' through the sound waves they make with clicking sounds, and then interpret the echoes that bounce off objects.

Clicks do not come from a dolphin's mouth. Instead, they are produced by forcing air through a structure called a vocal labium that is attached to the nasal cavity. As air passes through the nasal cavity and across the labium, it causes the surrounding tissue to vibrate, creating the sound. Dolphins can produce complex sounds with different frequencies and waveforms, allowing them to "snapshot" details of their environment, including muddy or treacherous conditions that are impractical for man-made technology. This makes them particularly well-suited to finding objects like mines in shallow waters or harbors . At the same time, dolphins can dive hundreds of meters below the surface, without any of the physical limitations or dangers that humans do.

Despite their usefulness, dolphin warriors are a controversial subject. There are many concerns surrounding the use and exploitation of dolphins. Animal rights activists have raised questions such as how dolphins can be made to perform tasks they do not fully understand in a dangerous environment. Currently, the US has about 85 bottlenose dolphins and a smaller number of sea lions trained by the NMMP.