Free Republic

It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying "toxic dart" guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing. Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill...

New Orleans, LA (AHN) - The last four of eight bottlenose dolphins swept out of an aquarium tank by Katrina have been rescued, according to NOAA officials. Scientists on the scene had not seen the remaining dolphins for a few days and were worried. Captive animals cannot survive long in the wild, as they do not seek out food and may not possess the survival skills necessary to avoid predators or boat traffic. All eight dolphins are currently undergoing evaluation. NOAA Fisheries Service lead veterinarian Teri Rowles says the rescue team is optimistic the dolphins will recover. The bottlenose dolphins...

GULFPORT, Miss. (NNS) -- Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) Gulfport opened its doors Sept. 17 to Kelly, Toni, Jackie and Noah, four of eight Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins displaced when a reported 40-foot storm surge caused by Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home at Marine Life Oceanarium Aug. 29. The dolphins' temporary home includes three portable saltwater above-ground pools, filters, pumps and monitoring equipment set up by U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program personnel from San Diego at an NCBC facility. One 22,000-gallon pool and two 10,000-gallon pools will be used to provide a temporary home for eight dolphins while they recover from...

JACKSON, Miss. - Two anemic dolphins that were swept from their aquarium tanks into the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Katrina were retrieved Thursday, but six others remained at sea. The two retrieved dolphins were captured after scientists in a boat coaxed the trained animals into sliding onto mats. The dolphins had cuts and appeared to be the worst injured of the eight, Jeff Foster, a marine specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They were immediately moved to a hotel swimming pool. Trainers and scientists hope to catch more of the dolphins on Saturday, but said that may...