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