Sea lions guard U.S. ships in Gulf: Animals trained to put clamps on swimmers, but not to kill

MSNBC ^ | Feb. 11 2003 | Reuters

[yonif]

NAVAL OFFICIALS SAID Tuesday the sea lions would be used to locate and mark divers or swimmers that could pose a threat to U.S. warships off Bahrain, headquarters of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
The sea lions have been trained to carry a special clamp in their mouths which they can attach to a suspicious person, Commander John Wood, Special Operations Officer Naval Forces Central Command, told Reuters.
The clamp is attached by a line to a flotation device which marks the swimmer for security personnel to apprehend him. Wood would not explain in detail how the clamp worked or what would stop a swimmer removing it.
“They (the sea lions) are very valuable in terms of capability and they are saving lives,” he said. “They can operate wherever we ask them to and are not limited to Bahrain.”
The United States is massing ships and troops in the Gulf region ahead of a possible war against Iraq.
Wood said the animals were trained to mark people but not to kill. The mammals can dive to 1,000 feet, swim at speeds up to 25 miles per hour, as well as see and hear better under water than any human or mechanical device the military has.
“The advantage is that they are working in their natural environment and anything going against them isn’t,” Wood said outside the sea lion enclosure where Zachary and Alex were barking and being fed.

Zak, a 375-pound California sea lion, shows his teeth during one of many training swims taking place in the Central Command AOR.

[Nick Thimmesch]

Gotta be a joke, eh?

[friendly]

Bark!, bark! The USA seals the fate of al-Queda!

[NYTexan]

" the animals were trained to mark people but not to kill. The mammals can dive to 1,000 feet, swim at speeds up to 25 miles per hour, as well as see and hear better under water than any human or mechanical device the military has"

Nature & Man communion at it's finest! Well done!

[lawdude]

Is that Hillary?

[Conservative til I die]

Awesome.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I have some bear traps that I will donate
if they have any problem with their traps.

[ancient_geezer]

The authentic Navy Seal :O)

[okie01]

The real McCoy? Maybe.

Disinformation? Maybe.

Who would want to be the first Arab frogman to find out...???

[Wild Irish Rogue]

This was discussed here last week and I saw a report on CNN from the Gulf-it's apparently true and utterly fascinating.
From nationalgeographic.com-

" The Navy currently uses trained dolphins to help detect mines. The dolphins are carried in holding tanks on warships and released upon entering mine-infested waters. The dolphins use their sonar to find the mines and later communicate that information to sailors."

From pbs.org-
" Bottlenose dolphins detect and mark of underwater mines. The animal locates a mine and then deposits a weighted buoy line near the mine in order to mark it.
California sea lions attach grabber devices to underwater objects for retrieval. This system is used extensively in training exercises with divers for Explosive Ordnance Disposal units. Practice mines are placed on the sea floor; those not found by the divers during the exercise are retrieved by the sea lions.
Bottlenose dolphins are used to detect and defend against enemy swimmers. This procedure was used in both the Vietnam war and the Persian Gulf to protect Navy anchored vessels from enemy swimmers seeking to plant explosives. The dolphins would swim slowly, patroling the area with their sonar, and alert armed trainer guards if they located a swimmer. They are also trained to "tag" the enemy swimmer with a marker so that Navy personnel can apprehend him. During the Vietnam war, rumors circulated about a "swimmer nullification program" in which dolphins were also being trained to shoot at enemy swimmers with a device similar to the tagging device. The Navy denies that any such program existed or that any dolphin has ever been trained to attack a human. "

[Jeff Chandler]

...the animals were trained ...not to kill.

They're set to stun.

Sea lions can really move in the water. I've been around them while diving, and they can be quite impressive (and intimidating).

[Timm]

I saw something about this on the Discovery Channel, or Animal Planet, or something. They had navy personnel on the show with the sea lions, so I don't think it's disinformation. (The show also claimed that dolphins were used in Vietnam to guard at least one harbor.) The show claimed that sea lions were taught to guard ships and harbors from underwater intruders, and find mines. I'd bet that the navy trains them to swim with bombs, too, but the show didn't say so. Maybe the show even said otherwise, actually. At any rate, it would be stupid for the navy not to do this; I know the thought of the sea lion being killed is saddening, but if this were done we'd be in combat, after all. Better the sea lion than not doing it, or having humans die.

Sea lions are preferable to dolphins for this sort of thing because they're much cheaper and easier to transport, apparently. They can hop into the boat and go home when the day's over. They can sit in crates on airplanes, they can ride in cars, etc.. Dolphins have to have a pen, special planes, lots of water, lots more food, etc.

Whatever benefits sea lions bring, and I'm prepared to believe they're significant, I'm sure the system is not entirely reliable. An animal can't be relied upon to patrol in a disciplined way, of course, and would have to swim around unsupervised a lot of the time. But better than not doing it, I suppose.

[kcar]

This is really cool. But has PETA weighed in?

[NYTexan]

I saw a news clip of a sea lion riding point on a rubber boat and jumping off at command. Very Cool!

[HairOfTheDog]

Cool. It has got to be a little disconcerting to be sneaking along and have a sea lion swim up and put a clamp on you, that is attached to a big orange buoy. Doh!

[wimpycat]

Cool!

[LibWhacker]

I like it. Kind of like The Boot -- for people. It should be set to detonate if the perp struggles.

[harpseal]

Did I ever tell you about the guy who after a keg woke up in bed with a tame female sea lion beside him? He heard about it for months. A little cod liver oil on his face had him waking up to her licking his face. We even had pictures.

As to the subject it is an excellent counter measure for the placing of a limpet.

[dcwusmc]

PINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG............

[Robert A Cook PE]

Ya know, SEALS could guard the ships as well ....

And they are trained to kill.