Amidst the advancement of technology and the increasing need for widespread defense, even the underwater world is not spared. Be it robotics or the submarines, most of all wired with a surface monitoring units have been creating a nuisance for the marine life.With wires struggling many, or high acoustics or their toxic pollutants leading to their death or forcing them move away to hostile zones in search of tranquility. Defense, technology, research – all have been disrupting their normal life.
Now, Koa – the bottlenose dolphin and others like her – are taking up the responsibility to help the Navy defend against terrorists in scuba gear. No, they are no robots, but real-life dolphins trained to guard military installations! No artificial acoustics, no man-made disturbances and above all no toxicity of the surrounding environment. Doesn’t it sound innovative and environment-friendly as well?
Mike Rothe, head of science for the Navy’s marine mammal program said,
They are better than anything we have ever made.
As part of a Navy program to teach about 75 dolphins and 25 sea lions to detect terrorists and mines underwater, they are housed at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego Harbor.
Both the dolphins and sea lions are capable of finding mines and can also spot swimmers in murky waters. When they work together, the dolphins can drop a flashing light near a mine or a swimmer!
And the sea lions amazingly carry a cable and a handcuff-like device in their mouths that clamps onto a terrorist’s leg. And eventually, the sailors can use this cable to reel in the terrorist.