@rslade wrote:
A beluga whale cinched into a harness with a camera holder and a label identifying the source from St. Petersburg has been found (and set free) in Norway ...
Nothing new about this story.
U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program
The Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division at NIWC Pacific manages the Navy's Marine Mammal Program which trains bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions to detect, locate, mark and recover objects in harbors, coastal areas, and at depth in the open sea.
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USE OF DOLPHINS BY THE U.S. NAVY
Research on these mammals began in 1960 in California, and by 1965, a bottlenose dolphin named Tuffy was the first cetacean to be “drafted” into Navy service. Two years later, the program became classified, with the majority of its animals located in San Diego.
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