Why Whales and Dolphins Join the Navy, in Russia and the U.S.

Fishermen off the northeastern coast of Norway may have spotted the first evidence of a renewed Russian program to use marine mammals for military operations, according to widespread media reports on Tuesday. Last week, local fisherman noticed a beluga whale near their boat that seemed to want their attention. As they got closer, they saw a harness strapped to the beluga, outfitted with mounts for GoPro-type cameras. Further inspection revealed “St. Petersburg equipment” embossed on the harness clips.

Norwegian scientists told reporters that they believed the mammal was trained by the Russian Navy. Russian authorities haven’t commented on the speculation, but it’s unlikely the whale was wearing the harness to record his own home videos.

The use of animals for military operations isn’t all that unusual. During the Cold War, the Soviet navy trained dolphins for military use, but the program was discontinued sometime after 1991. The United States Navy has studied marine mammals, including beluga whales, since the 1960s and has trained them to carry out a variety of tasks, like performing recovery operations and finding underwater mines. The Times reporter John Ismay served as a Navy explosive ordnance disposal officer and explains the kinds of things dolphins, whales and sea lions are trained to do.