THE NAVY’S MARINE MAMMAL PROGRAM TRAINS DOLPHINS & SEA LIONS TO PROTECT THE SEAS

The U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) is one of the most fascinating, lesser-known aspects of military operations. The Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division at NIWC Pacific manages the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program. The program trains dolphins and sea lions to detect, mark, and recover objects in the open sea, in coastal areas, and in harbors. Yes, you heard that right. Dolphins and sea lions actually do work for the Navy. These animals are exceptionally taken care of, and are far more than mere tools in a military system. Learn more about the origin of the program, and what the future holds.

How the Marine Mammal Program Began

The Marine Mammal Program began in the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War. It was primarily for anti-personnel usage during the Vietnam War. The Marine Mammal Program was technically classified until the early 90s, but it was a pretty poorly kept secret, as Navy scientists helped create organizations for marine mammal researchers. However, at the time, the scientists were unable to confirm that they worked with the animals.

The program was designed to address military challenges, such as detecting and neutralizing mines, locating underwater threats, and tracking swimmers or divers who pose threats in harbors and at sea for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

Researchers recognized the exceptional underwater capabilities of Pacific bottlenose dolphins and sea lions for these tasks. Dolphins have biosonar abilities, and sea lions are agile and maneuverable, making them perfect allies for the military.

No animals have been acquired from the wild for the program since the 1970s. For over 50 years, dolphins and sea lions have been raised and trained in the Navy’s care for the various factions of the Marine Mammal Program.

Dolphins and Sea Lions on Duty

So, why are dolphins and sea lions bred and raised under the Navy’s care for the Marine Mammal Program? Well, it’s due to their natural abilities, largely their intelligence.

Dolphins naturally possess sophisticated echolocation systems, which enable them to detect objects, including underwater hazards, even in low visibility conditions.

Sea lions, on the other hand, are fantastic swimmers. They can safely and easily dive to incredible depths, well beyond what humans are capable of. This makes them extremely well-suited for deep-sea work.

Trainers in the Marine Mammal Program dive while wearing protective gear, such as helmets and chest plates, as Mark VI program anti-personnel dolphins are trained to detect divers, which would result in a sudden collision underwater, knowing that they will be rewarded with a seafood snack for making divers rise to the surface to confirm detection.

This procedure prevents enemy divers in combat situations from being able to sneak up on U.S. vessels undetected and place explosives, therefore protecting both vessels and personnel from underwater threats.

Commander Robert Seligman Shares His Experience With the Program

For this piece, VeteranLife conducted an exclusive interview with Commander Robert Seligman, who is a huge proponent of the Marine Mammal Program. His experience with the program dates back to 1990, when he first swam against the MK 6 anti-personnel dolphins.

One amusing story that Commander Robert Seligman shared during his interview was about detractors of the Marine Mammal Program who thought they needed to “free” a dolphin from its protective pen in San Diego Bay by cutting into the pen and setting it loose in the bay.

What they didn’t realize at the time was that they had freed a Mark VI program dolphin that was trained to track and detect divers and swimmers in combat situations- and the dolphin thought it was time to go to work.

“The animals are reinforced positively with fish for finding a swimmer. This dolphin thought it was still working and quickly found the swimmer who had cut into its pen. And it beat the snot out of this guy,” Commander Seligman said.

“Flipper wasn't getting a fish, so Flipper kept hitting the diver. And so, finally, the diver was screaming for help and had to be rescued by a Navy working boat,” he added.

The dolphin was apparently very pleased with itself for catching the diver. In fact, many of the dolphins are highly amused by catching and thrashing divers. They often view the whole exercise as a game, with the reward of a seafood snack being an added bonus.

How Does the Navy Take Care of the Animals?

The primary focus of the Marine Mammal Program is to ensure that animals are not treated as machines. In fact, they are considered by their trainers and handlers to be as much a part of the Navy family as any of their human colleagues.

“They are never sacrificed in their mission. They are never harmed, and we never use negative reinforcement. They are given daily visual inspections, rubdowns, vitamins, and 24/7 veterinary care. Their health care is probably better than what a lot of people receive,” Commander Seligman said.

Flipper, one of the working animals, is fed a diet of restaurant-quality seafood, primarily a mix of herring, squid, and mackerel. It’s also important to note that the working animals in the Marine Mammal Program are never deprived of food as a training or reinforcement method - they are always well-fed and are free to leave their handlers at any time.

While protective pens are used to house the animals on-base, they are trained in open ocean environments, and when occasionally a wild pod of dolphins or sea lions comes by, the animals are free to interact with them or even leave with them if they want to.

In most cases, however, the wild pod will “close ranks” and not accept the newcomer, leaving the dolphin or sea lion to return to its human colleagues voluntarily.

The Future of the Navy’s Marine Mammal Ops

Today, the program stands at the forefront of research into dolphin bio-sonar, and nest veterinary care practices for the animals, said Dr. Mark Xitco, the director of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program.

In more recent years, the program has taught sea lions how to play video games, which was part of an effort to learn more about cognitive enrichment. According to Dr. Xitco, the program largely teaches the animals, “to do simple things under extraordinary circumstances."

He went on to say, “For them, detecting enemy divers and swimmers or (underwater drones) or enemy mines, finding the target is easy. The animals are natural hunters, we just changed what they’re hunting for.”

While the program is largely focused on advancing the field of marine biology, there will come a time when every animal in the Marine Mammal Program will retire, and when they do, the rewards they receive for their service continue.

After service, the animals are retired to a breeding colony, where they live out their days in ease and comfort while providing the Navy with its next generation of Marine mammals.

In a New York Times article, Dr. Xitco explained that when the technology becomes available, it will replace the animals. However, they also believe that there are jobs that animals perform that robotics can’t replace for decades.

For example, technology currently exists that many detractors believe can and should replace the animals in the Marine Mammal Program, such as aircraft-based underwater mine detection systems. However, these detection programs are limited in their usefulness, as they have a tendency to return a huge number of false positive mine “sightings” that turn out to be rocks.

According to Commander Seligman, when Flipper detects a mine, “You can be confident it’s a mine,” without the risk of false positives that other technologies pose. This saves the Navy and its personnel countless hours, days, even weeks of lost time in their mine detection and neutralization efforts. This ultimately saves lives that could otherwise be lost to those mines in the future.

The Marine Mammal Program demonstrates that the bond between humans and animals is an amazing collaboration that benefits both parties. As Commander Seligman says, “They love us as much as we love them.”

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Sources:

• Inside the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program