Yes, I knew about the uses for patroling and working with the Navy......
But always revert to 'rescue' when I think of Dolphins.
Now your connection of the Dolphin to the Scuba Diver, is more than interesting, it would explain them, but still not the fact that they have no equipment or starting point to enter the water.
In those rescue logs, I forget which of the islands, but
close by, as i recall, there were 2 divers that were found, there again, no place where they entered the water.
I think if a big dolphin came at me under water, it would scare me enough that I would forget how to keep breathing.
The photo of the dolphins open mouth is impressive.
Would the Dolphins be working up north, where the diver was found? Or only in the warm southern waters?
>>>>Would the Dolphins be working up north, where the diver was found? Or only in the warm southern waters?
Here is a snippet:
Navy Sailors, standing watch over Arabian Gulf ports and deterring uninvited guests seeking to harm ships and ports. With swimmer defense experience dating back to Vietnam, the Navy’s Mk 6 dolphins are ready to deploy any time, anywhere.
“It is reassuring to know that we can put our anti-swimmer dolphins where we need them rapidly and successfully, in order to protect our Sailors, ships and high value assets,” said Lt. Cmdr. Martin Anderson, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command’s Special Operations branch officer.
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“These dolphins and their handlers provide a valuable capability, by guarding U.S. and coalition ships and piers in the waters of not only the Arabian Gulf, but throughout 5th Fleet waters.”
Taking over from the Sea Lion Shallow Water Intruder Detection System, the dolphins, operated by Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Mobile Unit 3, provide significant operational force protection capabilities to the 5th Fleet theater. The Navy’s selection of bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions for its operational systems is based on a variety of factors, one of the most important of which is their ability to work comfortably and effectively in a wide variety of environments.
“They’re able to adapt rapidly, and their biological sonar is very effective,” said Naval Space and Warfare (SPAWAR) representative, Mark Yates, referring to the mammals’ special natural adaptations, such as an efficient hydrodynamic shape, and a very effective natural sonar system that can transmit and receive sound waves.
“The adaptations make the animals valuable partners in detecting threat swimmers,” added Sonar Technician (Submarines) 1st Class Dan Cook of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3. “Hardware-based systems have limitations that the dolphins make up for naturally, which helps them discriminate between objects and swimmers. This is particularly helpful in high noise environments, such as harbors and bays.”
/snippet
It sounds like they can go in cold water. But it also says they use sea lions.
And they are called anti swimmers.
Since we have unexplained deaths of mysterious scuba divers, I just found this interesting.