Marine Mammal

Winter 2009

About the Training

Newer and relatively unheard of trainingOnly about six cadets accepted each year

Entrance essay required

Very relaxedCountless opportunities

Thousands of new experiences

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

Program was founded in the 1960’s

Originally studied hydrodynamics of dolphins

Trainability, diving ability, and intelligence of dolphins led to the Marine Mammal program

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

Many types of marine mammals were originally

used

Animals mainly trained for mine-hunting, object

recovery, and swimmer detection

Each system has a different military designation

Program was only recently de-classified by the Navy

The Dolphins

Only part of the program

Used for mine-hunting and

swimmer detection

Animals are bred within the program

Used because of their powerful sonar

The Sea Lions

Used for fleet ops and object recovery

Purchased instead of bred

Easier to transport than dolphins

DietSea lions and dolphins primarily eat capelin, herring, squid, and

mackerel

Each animal has a specific diet

Fish are restaurant-quality

Average dolphin eats 9 pounds of fish every day

Training

Dolphins cannot understand vocal signals

A trainer communicates with dolphins using learned hand signals

Dolphins start training very young

The most important and hardest thing for a dolphin to learn is

voluntary beaching

This behavior is crucial for deployments and routine checks

such as weight checks and medical procedures

TrainingSea lions are bought rather than

bred

The bought sea lions are a year old or more and their training starts

immediately

Sea lions are first taught to sit on a stand and perform a basic med

check

After this, they are assigned to the system they will continue training

with

Mark-4, 7, & 8 SystemsThese Mark systems deal with

mine-hunting

Only dolphins are included in these systems because of their sonar

Mark 4 dolphins detect and mark floating or tethered mines

Mark 7 dolphins detect and mark mines on the sea floor

Mark 8 dolphins are trained to rapidly mark out a safe passage for the initial landing of troops ashore

Mark-6 SystemMark-6 uses both sea lions and dolphins as sentries

They commonly guard harbors and Naval ships

Both animals are trained to patrol designated areas

When an unauthorized diver or swimmer is found, the

animal marks them so that they can be picked up

Mark-5

Mark-5 is dedicated to the recovery of de-activated mines and objects

Only sea lions are used in this system

Sea lions are used to do this job because human divers can’t compare

Transportation

Key part of training

Naturally difficult to train dolphins to get used to

transportation

Sea lions are extremely easy to transport by

comparison

During deployments, portable pools have to be

set up for animals

Both dolphins and sea lions can remain out of water

Medical

Medical checks are routine and often the first thing taught to

animals

Daily checks include a full body overview

Less common checks include weight, ultrasound, and blood-

taking

Every animal is evaluated constantly for dietary changes

Animals are kept very healthy and quite possibly receive the

best care in the U.S

Miscellaneous Pictures

Deployments