Photo: Sgt. Andrew Garrett trains a bottlenose dolphin equipped with a tracking device on its fin. (U.S. Navy)Should Dolphins Be Used To Detect Underwater Mines? -- CBC
The U.S. Navy may deploy a team of dolphins to ensure the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that facilitates one fifth of the world's daily oil trade, remains open if Iran closes it.
In the war in Iraq in 2003, dolphins and sea lions equipped with tracking devices on their fins were trained to detect underwater mines and drop acoustic transponders nearby. Human divers then disarm the explosives or remove them altogether.
Dolphins are particularly suited to this task when trained properly. A 2010 article in the San Francisco Chronicle describes dolphins as extremely fast swimmers, able to dive multiple times before suffering decompression sickness. They also possess sonar capabilities that are more accurate than most man-made devices.
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My Comment: A rather good summary .... and I participated in the online poll. (I voted yes).
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