Dolphins and Sea Lions May Get the Call to Defend Northwest Base

Zak, a 375-pound sea lion, leaping back into a boat after his harbor patrol training exercises in the waters off the coast of Bahrain in 2003.

A fabulous newsflash Yes, at last the Navy has discovered how to harness the power of marine life to defend our coastlines and make the waters safe for democracy. Was this move inspired by The Day of the Dolphin?

I am particularly a fan of the way the sea lion pictured (above) is named Zak. Has a certain LEVIATHANian been shape-shifting AND moonlighting? These questions must be answered.

Note also how the sea lions and dolphins were used to keep San Diego safe during the GOP convention of 1996. Who knew that Bob Dole was protected by sea lions? Do you think this means he is a sea lion? Does he sing to them, late at night?

Dolphins and Sea Lions May Get the Call to Defend Northwest Base

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 12 (AP) — Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers may be sent to patrol a military base in Washington State, the Navy said Monday.

In a notice published in this week’s Federal Register, the Navy said it needed to bolster security at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, on the Puget Sound close to Seattle.

The base is home to submarines, ships and laboratories and is vulnerable to attack by swimmers and scuba divers, the notice states.

Several options are under consideration, but the preferred plan would be to send up to 30 California sea lions and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins from the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program, based in San Diego.

“These animals have the capabilities for what needs to be done for this particular mission,” said Tom LaPuzza, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Program.

Mr. LaPuzza said that because of their astonishing sonar abilities, dolphins were excellent at patrolling for swimmers and divers. When a Navy dolphin detects a person in the water, it drops a beacon. This tells a human interception team where to find the suspicious swimmer.

Dolphins are also trained to detect underwater mines; they were sent to do this in the Iraqi harbor of Umm Qasr in 2003. The last time the animals were used operationally in San Diego was in 1996, when they patrolled the bay during the Republican National Convention.

Sea lions can carry in their mouths special cuffs attached to long ropes. If the animal finds a rogue swimmer, it can clamp the cuff around the person’s leg. The individual can then be reeled in for questioning.

The Navy is seeking public comment for an environmental impact statement on the proposal.

The Navy wanted to deploy marine animals to the Northwest in 1989, but a federal judge sided with animal rights activists concerned about the effects of cooler water and about how the creatures would affect the environment. Water in the Puget Sound is about 10 degrees cooler than water in San Diego Harbor, which has an average temperature of 58 degrees, Mr. LaPuzza said.

Since then, the Navy has taken the dolphins and sea lions to cold-water places like Alaska and Scandinavia to see how they cope.

“They did very well,” Mr. LaPuzza said.

If sent to Washington, the dolphins would be housed in heated enclosures and would patrol the bay only for periods of about two hours.

Stephanie Boyles, a marine biologist and spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said that sea mammals did not provide a reliable defense system, and that they should not be kept in small enclosures.

“We believe the United States’ citizens deserve the very best defense possible, and this just isn’t it,” Ms. Boyles said.

Dolphins can live as long as 30 years. Mr. LaPuzza said the Navy occasionally gave its retired animals to marine parks but generally kept them until they died of old age.

The Navy has been training marine mammals since the 1960s and keeps about 100 dolphins and sea lions. Most are in San Diego, but about 20 are deployed at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.

The Navy hopes to reduce its marine mammal program and replace the animals with machines, Mr. LaPuzza said, “but the technology just isn’t there yet.”

“The value of the marine mammals is we’ve been doing this for 35 years, and we’ve ironed out all the kinks,” he said.