Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ukrainian navy loses three 'killer' dolphins

 

Tuesday 12 March 2013 19:07 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The navy has reportedly lost three of its carefully trained “killer” dolphins. The defence ministry has denied the reports and refused to confirm that its navy uses dolphins, but the loss has been widely reported in the country, and former naval officers said dolphins often went missing during exercises to look for mates.

“If a male dolphin saw a female during the mating season, then he would immediately set off after her,” Yury Plyachenko, a former Soviet naval officer told Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.

The navy has allegedly restarted its dolphin training programme, teaching them to detect mines and attack enemy swimmers using weapons attached to their heads.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in