Environment

Dolphins are like elite soldiers in the United States, they've been recruited and domesticated by the US Navy for different missions.

Solving puzzles, imitating, learning..., these marine mammals have many assets useful to armies around the world. The US Navy therefore uses dolphins, known for their great intelligence, to monitor and defend several nuclear submarine naval bases. Let us mention, for example, that of Kitsap (near Seattle, Washington) or that of Kings Bay (Georgia). As the media Korii points out, a quarter of the American nuclear arsenal is stored there.

Dolphins are not the only ones to work for the US Navy, sea lions, sharks, rays, sea birds and sea turtles have joined the ranks since 1959. Objective? Identify the ideal candidate to carry out certain important missions. Over time, only two marine mammals have been selected: the California sea lion and the bottlenose dolphin.

In Vietnam and Iraq

According to Korii, more than 100 dolphins were present in American naval installations in the 1980s and the budget for the operation exceeded 8 million dollars, or nearly 7.6 million euros. The cetaceans were trained to: locate enemy divers or deliver certain messages. They served in the Vietnam War, escorting oil tankers, and assisting in mine-clearing operations in Iraq in 2003.

Thanks to their echolocation abilities, dolphins have become major assets. In a few words, clicking sounds are emitted by pushing air through what are called "phonic lips", present in their noses, allowing them to map their environment with precision. A mapping that is also done in areas where human technology doesn't work optimally.

Recruits in danger?

Today, many animal protection movements are questioning the living conditions of these marine mammals (nearly 85), which have been serving the American Navy for several years now.

(MH with AsD - Source: Korii - Illustration: Unsplash)