A military marine mammal is a cetacean or pinniped that has been trained for military uses. Examples include bottlenose dolphins, seals, sea lions, and beluga whales. The United States and Soviet militaries have trained and employed oceanic dolphins for various uses. Military marine mammals have been trained to rescue lost naval swimmers, guard navy ships against enemy divers, locate mines for later clearance by divers, and aid in location and recovery of equipment lost on the seabed.
KDog, a common bottlenose dolphin of the United States Navy Marine Mammal Program, performs mine-clearance work while wearing a locating pinger in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War.
A bottlenose dolphin responding to its trainer's hand gestures.
Animal training is the act of teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Training may be for purposes such as companionship, detection, protection, and entertainment. The type of training an animal receives will vary depending on the training method used, and the purpose for training the animal. For example, a seeing eye dog will be trained to achieve a different goal than a wild animal in a circus.
Early 20th century animal trainer Dolores Vallecita with a leopard.
The Ursar by Theodor Aman, depicting a trainer with a muzzled bear
Morphy, an orangutan with his toy, a horse, on a walk with his keeper in a traveling circus.
A trained dog competing in dog agility.
