New video reveals habits of US Navy

The video below shows the dolphin hunting fish, including “bass, croackers, halibut, pipefish, and smelt.” Additionally, it was the first instance that dolphins have been seen “devouring sea snakes.” [i]

In the study, GoPros were attached to the dolphins to reveal their hunting patterns over six months. These dolphins off the coast of California “were trained by the US Navy to spot undersea mines, defend against enemy swimmers, and defend some of the US nuclear stockpile.” Images of the dolphins consuming their prey show them flaring their lips, revealing almost all of their teeth. [ii]

The United States is responsible for beginning the trend of military dolphin training in the 1960s. Their training also included training for sea lions. The US initially used these military-trained dolphins during the first and second Gulf Wars. The bottlenose dolphin was selected to be trained for military operations because of “its highly developed biosonar abilities allowing the creatures to be deployed to find underwater mines.” [iii]

These trained dolphins are also credited with “saving more lives in open water than any specialty trained live savers.” Interestingly enough, a small conspiracy remains unsettled surrounding the military-trained dolphins housed near Lake Pontchartrain. In Sep. 2005, rumors surfaced that “armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.” Experts claimed that “the 36 mammals could be carrying toxic dart guns.” [iv]

Bottlenose dolphin of US Navy Marine Mammal Program with locator beacon attached.Photo byWork of the US federal government, public domain.

The claim garnered so much traction that Snopes investigated the claim. They concluded that while the dolphins were trained to hunt mines, there was no evidence to support any existence of “killer dolphins armed with toxic dart guns…to track down and immobilize spies and terrorists.”

Despite this, many still believe the outlandish claims. The 1973 film, The Day of the Dolphin only further illustrates the evolution of humans’ view of dolphins’ perceived superior skills and intelligence as potentially threatening, as shown in the movie’s trailer below. [v]

A similar story regarding the Ukrainian Navy’s trained dolphins also exists. In Mar. 2013, it was reported that five trained dolphins went out for an exercise, but only two returned to their home base. A Russian news site reported that the missing dolphins “may have been wearing their lethal headgear at the time of their escape.” The headgear allegedly consisted of “guns and knives attached to their heads.” The Ukrainian Navy denied any missing dolphins existed. [vi]

Photo byGawker

The US Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is currently homeported in Port Loma, California. The dolphins have been trained to recover objects in harbors and coastal areas. They also are trained to “attach recovery lines to Navy equipment on the ocean floor” and “search for and mark the location of undersea mines that could threaten the safety of those on board military or civilian ships.”

Additionally, they “assist security personnel in detecting and apprehending unauthorized swimmers and divers that might attempt to harm the Navy’s people, vessels, or harbor facilities.” [vi]

Dolphins can be transported by sea or by air.Photo byWork of the US federal government, public domain.

Personnel with base access privileges can schedule a walking tour of the facility by contacting the Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division.

Screenshot of contact info for Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division.Photo byCharnell Gilchrist

Internships and externships are also available. The Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division offers a Veterinary Medical Externship, an Undergraduate Internship, and a two-week winter internship program for high school students through the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Individuals can learn the truth behind how the program that has generated such unbelievable narratives really operates.

References

[i] Antony Ashkenaz, GoPro footage shows how US navy-trained mine-clearing dolphins hunt for food, (Aug. 19, 2022)

[ii] Id.

[iii] FactFile, How the US Navy and Russia Trained Dolphins For War, (Jul. 30, 2018)

[iv] Mark Townsend, Armed and dangerous – Flipper the firing dolphin let loose by Katrina, (Sep. 25, 2005)

[v] David Mikkelson, Killer Dolphins, (Sep. 28, 2005)

[vi] Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific, US Navy Marine Mammal Program, (2022)