Attack Dolphins Escape Ukrainian Navy

(eCanadaNow) – According to RIA Novosti, an unnamed expert confirmed on Tuesday, March 12, that Ukrainian’s Navy lost three of its five “killer” dolphins during military training in the Black Sea near its base in Sevastopol. The Russian state-owned media agency claims that the Ukrainians trained the dolphins to use guns and knives custom-designed to dolphin physiology for attacking enemy divers.

The dolphins purportedly are in heat and broke free of their handlers to search for mates.

Officials from the Ukrainian Navy and government have yet to confirm the existence of the program. According to Radio Free Europe, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry denies all reports of covert programs involving dolphins and states that claims to the contrary are a “gross provocation.”

RIA Novosti also claims that the Russian military used the Sevastopol site extensively to train dolphins for military tasks when the region was a part of the former Soviet Union. Dolphins were supposedly taught to attack divers, locate enemies, discover mines and deploy explosives.

Other countries, including the United States, train dolphins and other mammals including sea lions for similar military tasks in ocean waters.

It is unknown if the dolphins pose a threat to humans or other animals in the Black Sea. The dolphins may have escaped while armed with weaponry.

On The Web:

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130312/179963392.html

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-dolphins-escape-military/24926811.html

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/03/ukraine-might-have-military-trained-killer-dolphins-might-have-escaped/63036/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/12/ukraine-navy-killer-dolphins-escape-lovesick_n_2862644.html

http://pix11.com/2013/03/12/three-killer-ukrainian-attack-dolphins-are-on-the-loose/#axzz2NT96nVz4

http://seattletimes.com/html/pacificnw/2012662209_pacificpdolphins29.html