Should dolphins be employed to help the military?
If Ecco the dolphin can do it, so can they
Zane Ecklund
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Opinion
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A big deal has been made about the United States Navy's plans to use dolphins as a swimming tool of defense. A Yahoo! News story dated March 28 chronicles the criticism of this practice. The dolphins in question are being used to guard the West Coast Trident Submarine Base at Hood Canal in Bangor, Wash.
These cetaceans are trained to detect intruders in the water around the base. When an intruder is sensed, the beasts alert their handlers, who affix strobe lights to their noses. The dolphins then swim back into the depths and bump the intruder, turning the light on and giving Navy security a sign showing them where to search for the intruder.
The argument against this tactic is that the waters being guarded are too cold for the poor little dolphins. Susan Scheirman, dolphin enthusiast from Bainbridge Island, Wash., mentioned in the article that the working conditions at Hood Canal were like a blizzard.
Dorian Houser, a Navy marine mammal physiologist, refutes this claim. Houser cites studies that show bottlenose dolphins are capable of handling extreme conditions and function well in temperatures as low as 40 degrees. The waters of Hood Canal rarely get that cold, and when the dolphins' work is done, they are returned to an enclosure filled with warm water.
The entire controversy begs the question: Should animals be used for military purposes? The answer should be a resounding "yes."
Animals have been used for military purposes for thousands of years. Horses have been used in cavalry since biblical times. Akbar the Great, the Mughal leader, used elephants during his military campaigns to (literally) crush his opposition. Elephants have also been used as recently as World War II in shipyards.
Other unorthodox examples also abound. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner attempted to condition a pigeon to guide a missile by pecking a screen, which coordinated the projectile's movements.
Before the atom bomb was implemented, bats were considered weapons. Project X-Ray was a development which had as its goal attaching tiny incendiary packets on bats and release them over Japanese cities and towns. The bats, looking for shelter, would roost in houses and their loads would detonate. The idea was that paper and wood were widely used building materials, so the incendiary devices would burn down structures. Ultimately, the atom bomb was employed, and these bat bombs were never used.
These cetaceans are trained to detect intruders in the water around the base. When an intruder is sensed, the beasts alert their handlers, who affix strobe lights to their noses. The dolphins then swim back into the depths and bump the intruder, turning the light on and giving Navy security a sign showing them where to search for the intruder.
The argument against this tactic is that the waters being guarded are too cold for the poor little dolphins. Susan Scheirman, dolphin enthusiast from Bainbridge Island, Wash., mentioned in the article that the working conditions at Hood Canal were like a blizzard.
Dorian Houser, a Navy marine mammal physiologist, refutes this claim. Houser cites studies that show bottlenose dolphins are capable of handling extreme conditions and function well in temperatures as low as 40 degrees. The waters of Hood Canal rarely get that cold, and when the dolphins' work is done, they are returned to an enclosure filled with warm water.
The entire controversy begs the question: Should animals be used for military purposes? The answer should be a resounding "yes."
Animals have been used for military purposes for thousands of years. Horses have been used in cavalry since biblical times. Akbar the Great, the Mughal leader, used elephants during his military campaigns to (literally) crush his opposition. Elephants have also been used as recently as World War II in shipyards.
Other unorthodox examples also abound. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner attempted to condition a pigeon to guide a missile by pecking a screen, which coordinated the projectile's movements.
Before the atom bomb was implemented, bats were considered weapons. Project X-Ray was a development which had as its goal attaching tiny incendiary packets on bats and release them over Japanese cities and towns. The bats, looking for shelter, would roost in houses and their loads would detonate. The idea was that paper and wood were widely used building materials, so the incendiary devices would burn down structures. Ultimately, the atom bomb was employed, and these bat bombs were never used.
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