Dolphins as Our Friends against our EnemiesG'day
“In March 2003, 8 dolphins became the first to take part in mine clearing operations in an active combat situation. Together with divers and unmanned water vehicles, the dolphins helped find more than 100 mines and booby traps planted by Saddam Hussein’s forces.”
-Pentagon claim-
This cool documentary “Sentinels of the Sea” was produced by the Pentagon Channel, it focuses on the training of California Sea lions and Bottlenose Dolphins for the US Navy Marine Mammal Programme. Dolphins and Sea lions conduct “mine hunting, fleet support, force protection” operations to support the US Navy all over the world.
The following link is a short you tube clip that introduces this documentary.
The full 30 minute version is available on the Pentagon Channel website at
http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/, simply head to this website, go down to ‘video search’ at the extreme bottom left corner of the page, and search for “Sentinels of the Sea” and you can play the documentary.
I’ve marked some of the more interesting parts in parenthesis (brackets) showing the time of whatever it is im talking about in case you wish to skip the boring parts about “diet & research” and go straight to military training.
First, this documentary interests me because it demonstrates how sea mammals movements underwater surpass what we humans are capable of.
As a diver, I know that humans are not made for underwater activity, we cannot venture too deep for too long without experiencing narcosis (very high/intoxicating feeling, pleasant but dangerous), and we always have to make that troublesome safety stop before surfacing otherwise we get ‘the bends‘. Our speed of movement underwater is pathetic compared to sea what animals can do. Sea lions & dolphins can go deeper, faster, longer all without the risks of decompression sickness. Such human imperfection underwater explains why we have made use of sea mammals.
Second, this documentary is amazing because it shows how dolphins & sea lions are trained to conduct underwater naval operations to support our military.
Dolphins can seek out mines and mark them using special underwater markers (19:45). The dolphin searches for mines and then reports to naval officers by tapping on certain parts of the boat, if an object was found, officers issue the dolphin with an underwater marker. The dolphin takes the marker down to the seabed near the mine and activates it, the marker then rises to the surface while its base is weighted down to the seabed.
Here the dolphin attaches a marker to a mine line.
This is the underwater marker brought down to the seabed and released to mark objects.
Sea lions are trained to spot and capture suspicious objects underwater (Mk 5 Object Recovery Programme; 24:35) using a clamp. The video shows underwater footage of the sea lion hooking on a cable to an object.
According to this article by Christophe Carmarans - Agençe France-Presse, this can be extended to capture enemy divers,
“the mammals are trained to attach a restraint device - a C-shaped, handcuff-like clamp - to the leg of an intruder with their mouths before deploying a floating marker signalling the attacker's position Dolphins are trained to spot undersea mines and enemy scuba divers who may be trying to plant explosives in deep waters, while sea lions can work in shallow waters and even up on land”
-
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s797943.htm-
Throughout the video, you will see that the marine mammals are rewarded with food for accomplishing their tasks, this is an example of operant conditioning. Among the first training stages involves getting the dolphins to beach onto small naval craft and for transportation, an act that is not natural to their behaviour (05:36). Each successful beaching act results in a food reward.
The officers have also ruled out the possibility of their ‘trainees’ swimming away back into the wild because with the navy,
“they get all the love they need, all the attention” free from predators and the need to compete for food in the ocean.
The US Navy Marine Mammal Programme website is
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/mine_hunting.html and it shows that initial trainings were done on a variety of sea mammal species; including Orcas and pilot whales trained to recover underwater objects with huge bbq-tong-like clamps.
“The Navy Marine Mammal Program has relied on the proven techniques of operant conditioning, emphasizing the use of positive reinforcement (correct responses are rewarded while incorrect responses are ignored) to train its animals.”
F
References
All images are shown here courtesy of the US Navy Marine Mammal Programme Website
Let slip the sea lions of war
By Verity Murphy
BBC News Online http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2839155.stm
Combat dolphins, sea lions ready for Gulf War Christophe Carmarans - Agençe France-Presse http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s797943.htm
The Pentagon Channel http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/The US Navy Marine Mammal Programme website: http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/training.html
Navy wants dolphins, sea lions to defend us By THOMAS WATKINS The Seatle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003569390_dolphins13m.html