1. Marine Mammal Winter 2009

2. About the Training Newer and relatively unheard of training Only about six cadets accepted each year Entrance essay required Very relaxed Countless opportunities Thousands of new experiences

3. The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program Program was founded in the 1960’s Originally studied hydrodynamics of dolphins Trainability, diving ability, and intelligence of dolphins led to the Marine Mammal program

4. The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program Many types of marine mammals were originally used Animals mainly trained for mine- hunting, object recovery, and swimmer detection Each system has a different military designation Program was only recently de- classified by the Navy

5. The Dolphins Only part of the program Used for mine-hunting and swimmer detection Animals are bred within the program Used because of their powerful sonar

6. The Sea Lions Used for fleet ops and object recovery Purchased instead of bred Easier to transport than dolphins

7. Diet Sea lions and dolphins primarily eat capelin, herring, squid, and mackerel Each animal has a specific diet Fish are restaurant-quality Average dolphin eats 9 pounds of fish every day

8. Training Dolphins cannot understand vocal signals A trainer communicates with dolphins using learned hand signals Dolphins start training very young The most important and hardest thing for a dolphin to learn is voluntary beaching This behavior is crucial for deployments and routine checks such as weight checks and medical procedures

9. Training Sea lions are bought rather than bred The bought sea lions are a year old or more and their training starts immediately Sea lions are first taught to sit on a stand and perform a basic med check After this, they are assigned to the system they will continue training with

10. Mark-4, 7, & 8 Systems These Mark systems deal with mine- hunting Only dolphins are included in these systems because of their sonar Mark 4 dolphins detect and mark floating or tethered mines Mark 7 dolphins detect and mark mines on the sea floor Mark 8 dolphins are trained to rapidly mark out a safe passage for the initial landing of troops ashore

11. Mark-6 System Mark-6 uses both sea lions and dolphins as sentries They commonly guard harbors and Naval ships Both animals are trained to patrol designated areas When an unauthorized diver or swimmer is found, the animal marks them so that they can be picked up

12. Mark-5 Mark-5 is dedicated to the recovery of de- activated mines and objects Only sea lions are used in this system Sea lions are used to do this job because human divers can’t compare

13. Transportation Key part of training Naturally difficult to train dolphins to get used to transportation Sea lions are extremely easy to transport by comparison During deployments, portable pools have to be set up for animals Both dolphins and sea lions can remain out of water

14. Medical Medical checks are routine and often the first thing taught to animals Daily checks include a full body overview Less common checks include weight, ultrasound, and blood-taking Every animal is evaluated constantly for dietary changes Animals are kept very healthy and quite possibly receive the best care in the U.S

15. Miscellaneous Pictures

19. Deployments