Using Cetaceans as International Underwater Spies
In 2016, the Russian Federation declared its intention to purchase five combat bottlenose dolphins. According to SLATE News and Politics, other than being physically fit and ‘unblemished,’ Russia’s only criteria for these cetaceans was “perfect teeth.” The world reacted in a stupendous uproar; the internet fostered lively debates over what the dolphins would be used for—everything from uprooting sunken torpedoes to carrying bombs. Yet, historians acknowledged that this was not Russia’s first interest in using dolphins for military means. For more than the past 50 years, Russia has utilized dolphins as underwater agents to protect harbors and detect enemy vessels.
Russia was not the first country to train dolphins; rather, this idea was inspired by the United States. The MIT Technology Review explains how the United States created the US Navy Marine Mammal Program in 1959; the program taught dolphins to deliver messages and identify underwater threats. These dolphins, given personal names like Tinker and John, served in the Vietnam War for these aforementioned purposes. Further research demonstrates echolocation— the dolphin’s method of locating underwater objects using sound waves—to be more effective than sonar at locating underwater mines. In 2003, the US sent nine dolphins to Umm Qasr, an Iraqi port in the Persian Gulf, to identify mines. The dolphins, part of Special Clearance Team One, successfully aided the Navy in disabling 100 anti–ship mines.
Both international powers, Russia and the US, still use dolphins today. In the summer of 2023, international news informed the world of suspicious Russian activity in Swedish waters. However, MailOnline shares how this suspicious activity is quite unusual–it was conducted by an underwater spy, a young beluga whale named Hvaldimir. Hvaldimir carried a harness with writing claiming he ‘belongs to St. Petersburg.’ The harness had designated space for two GoPro cameras—neither of which were still on. This sighting sparked an international debate on the ethics of using cetaceans in military operations.
Dolphin–training ethics has been a ‘hot topic’ since the rise of a social movement in the early 2000s to remove dolphins from captivity. Shocking and expository documentaries, like Blackfish, targeted the inhumane practices of entertainment companies like SeaWorld and their international counterparts. No major legislation nor discussion in major international entities, like the UN or NATO, has taken place on the topic. As countries look to expand to the Arctic waters in search of oil and natural gas, the relevance of dolphin training will likely rise. However, the question still remains– did Russia ever get the five dolphins it wanted to buy?