A new report sheds light on how Russia is using dolphins and other marine mammals for its military needs, using and recruiting the aquatic animals to stand guard at its naval bases. These so-called "Dolphins of War" have been under recruitment since 2016, and the Eurasian country has been using them for military purposes that serve their ranks.
Dolphins are best known for their high intelligence and trainability (as seen in aquariums or interactive parks), but they are lesser known for their not-so-friendly traits.
Dolphins of War in Russia Serves the Military as Per Reports
Interesting Engineering reported that Russia is utilizing marine mammals, more specifically bottlenose dolphins, as part of its military operations in naval bases. Moreover, these dolphins are also kept in pens, according to the UK Minister of Defence, to prevent divers from going to restricted areas and discovering more from underwater.
Other reports (via Science Alert) are attributing these Russia-trained dolphins to defend the Sevastopol Naval Base in the Black Sea, particularly in Russian territory.
Previous claims from the past years since 2016 center on how Russia is recruiting other marine mammals to do their bidding for them, particularly for its naval operations. These mammals include the beluga whale, seals, and the bottlenose dolphins.
Russian Dolphin is Doubling by the Numbers
Dolphins are highly intelligent and can learn via training or obeying commands from their human companions. With this, Russia is utilizing the sea mammal to help protect its naval base, as well as move fast underwater to spot divers and even tag them for the soldiers to identify them from below the dep.
Bottlenose dolphins are also celebrated for their speed underwater, achieving phenomenal speeds of up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) per hour to help alert the Russian fleet.
Russia's Operations Amidst the Conflict
For more than a year now, the Russian invasion of Ukraine erupted, and this led to the bicontinental country being ousted or shooed away from the technology its global partners previously offered. This led the country to be innovative and look for parts from everyday home appliances and other tech from their homes.
The US sanction against Russia also significantly affected the country for their advancements against Ukraine, seeing less technology for their needs in this modern warfare era.
However, this did not stop the country, as it was mentioned before, they got creative in sourcing their tech from scraps or developing it from within to address them.
One of the most valuable resources during conflicts is humans, but if one is significantly lacking in this area, they turn to animals to do their bidding. This is what Russia is reportedly doing now, as apart from their recruitment of the marine mammals, are also cultivating them to reproduce in pens to grow their marine fleet, made mostly out of the carnivorous dolphins.
