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| Do Russian armed 'warrior dolphins' really exist? |
The media often mentions fighter dolphins that Russia allegedly uses to protect the unnamed naval base in Sevastopol.
At the end of June, such a dolphin was also mentioned by the British intelligence agencies. The British Ministry of Defense claimed, citing satellite images, that Russia had increased security at the Sevastopol naval base, installed new barriers, and doubled the number of trained marine mammals that appeared to be 'bottlenose' dolphins.
Earlier, Naval News has also given similar news, but can dolphins really protect Russian ships from sea attack?
Is Ukraine also using dolphins militarily and the most important question is whether these animals are suffering because of this? The BBC Ukraine Service spoke to a few experts on these questions.
Andrey Rezenko is a military expert who grew up in Sevastopol. They say that dolphins have a natural radar with the help of which they can identify the presence of people and objects underwater from a considerable distance.
He says that Russia first established a special unit in the 1970s to use these capabilities for war purposes.
They say it was a secret experimental project whose initial purpose was scientific research.
"Under this experiment, an attempt was made to develop such high-speed ships that can move without making much noise in the water while examining dolphins."
According to Andrey Rezenko, a few trained dolphins were later handed over to the Russian Navy and since 1975 they have been used to protect Russian naval bases.
They claim that these dolphins are armed with a weapon and can kill anyone, especially divers who may come under the sea to destroy Russian ships.
He explained that these dolphins are fitted with a spear and trained to stab a diver in the chest underwater.
He says that he saw this device in 1980 at the naval school in Sevastopol. However, in reality, there is no evidence of any action against these dolphins so far.
After independence, the institution conducting scientific experiments on dolphins became Ukrainian property, and military experiments were stopped.
In 2013, 10 dolphins were delivered to the Ukrainian Navy to be trained to search for underwater objects. When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the dolphin research institute was once again handed over to the Russian military, and the center was moved to Odesa.
There is currently no evidence of military use of dolphins by Ukraine.
Western intelligence agencies claim that since 2014, Russia has resumed using dolphins for military purposes.
Speaking to Ukrainian blogger Sergey Mamiev, naval expert Pavel Lakyuchak said that some of the dolphins were given to a special force and are being used to search for saboteurs.
In 2022, satellite images showed Russia placing dolphin cages outside the Sevastopol port. New cages are also seen in the latest images from the British intelligence agency.
Although there is no concrete evidence of successful military use of dolphins so far, experts say their use is possible.
They say that no trained swimmer can escape a trained dolphin. However, naval affairs expert Pavel Lakivchuk says that Russian ships are not threatened by dive saboteurs, but by drones.
Western technology has also made possible artificial intelligence-powered submarines that can be used for undersea military purposes, Andrey Rezenko says.
Experts say that Russia does not have such technology and therefore is not abandoning conservative methods.
It should be noted that there have been several drone attacks on the naval base of Sevastopol.
This dolphin, allegedly used for military purposes, is a specific species of the Black Sea known as the bottlenose dolphin.
Biologist Ivan Rossio told the BBC that these dolphins are friendly and very intelligent animals.
There have also been cases in which such dolphins have rescued drowning humans or chased sharks away from them.
Some experts believe that dolphins can be trained better than monkeys and dogs. But this ability of theirs is also a source of trouble for them.
In the 1960s, thousands of dolphins were captured for experiments. Ivan Rossio, who also worked for a time at the research center in Odessa, says that dolphins die early in captivity.
Explaining the reason for this, he said that for training purposes, dolphins are not given food as a result of which they become weak and sick.
They say that despite the lack of evidence of the usefulness of fighting dolphins, their use and experiments have naturally resulted in losses.
"This is a crime against nature," he said. In his opinion, this dolphin is rare and should be allowed to remain in the sea.
It should be noted that since the beginning of the war between Ukraine and Russia, according to estimates, 50 thousand of three different types have been found in the Black Sea.
Dolphins have died. According to Ivan Rossio, the reason for their death is the bombardment and also the pressure created by the hydroacoustic system of the ships.