U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program - in The Media

In The Media

The NMMP has received much sensational coverage in the media, in some part because of the unusual nature of the program and the controversial concept of using intelligent marine mammals for military purposes. The NMMP was classified until the early 1990s, which also contributed to speculation about its true nature and even its proper title, with some referring to it as the Cetacean Intelligence Mission.

From time to time, stories have surfaced in the media claiming that military dolphins trained for attack missions, or even equipped with weaponry, have escaped and pose a danger to the public, but the Navy has stated that its dolphins have never been trained for any kind of attack mission against ships or people. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there were media reports that some of the Navy's dolphins, equipped with poison dart guns and trained to attack hostile swimmers in the water, escaped when their containment area in Lake Pontchartrain was breached, posing a threat to swimmers. However, the Navy reported that all of its dolphins were accounted for, and that its only dolphin training centre is in San Diego. During the hurricane, some dolphins did escape from the unrelated Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, and were subsequently recaptured.