US Navy to use dolphins for security

The US Navy wants to bolster security at a west coast military base by deploying dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and intercept waterborne attackers.

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The mammals would scour the sea for risks and alert officials to terrorist swimmers and divers targeting Kitsap-Bangor naval base near Seattle.

The navy is examining several options to step up security at the base, but the favourite plan would involve sending around 30 California sea lions and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins from the Navy's Marine Mammal Programme, based in San Diego.

When it detects someone in the water, a navy dolphin drops a beacon which alerts an interception team to the swimmer's location.

Sea lions, meanwhile, carry special cuffs attached to long ropes in their mouths to "arrest" rogue swimmers.