WEBVTT - How Can Dolphins Detect Sea Mines?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum here. Animals, for better or for worse, have

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<v Speaker 1>a long history as faithful allies to humans in war zones.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps the most notable of the battlefield animals is the horse,

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<v Speaker 1>which throughout human history has aided soldiers during combat, and

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<v Speaker 1>to this day, militaries still train dogs to guard sites

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<v Speaker 1>and soldiers a find explosives, and conduct search and rescue.

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<v Speaker 1>But still another animal aids the military by going where

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<v Speaker 1>dogs and horses can't. Underwater undersea mines have been responsible

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<v Speaker 1>for sinking or damaging many ships. Since World War II,

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<v Speaker 1>more ships have been damaged from mines than from all

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<v Speaker 1>other causes combined, including active enemy attacks. Beginning in the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixties, the US Navy's Marine Mammal Program started training

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<v Speaker 1>bottlenose dolphins to find explosive minds under water as well

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<v Speaker 1>as other suspicious objects. The dolphins don't disarm or explode

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<v Speaker 1>the mines, but rather locate the mines for humans to

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<v Speaker 1>subsequently disarm or mark for avoidance, all without putting the

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<v Speaker 1>dolphin in any substantial danger. Trainers using fish as a

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<v Speaker 1>reward and ignoring incorrect behaviors teach the dolphins to spot

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<v Speaker 1>suspicious man made metal objects from far away. A dolphin

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<v Speaker 1>learns to search for mines, and, upon finding one, swims

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<v Speaker 1>back up to the trainer's boat to poke an appropriate

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<v Speaker 1>signifier like a ball, with its nose. The humans then

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<v Speaker 1>give the dolphin a boy or a special device known

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<v Speaker 1>as an acoustic transponder, which the animal leaves in the

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<v Speaker 1>area where it spotted the mine. An acoustic transponder produces

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<v Speaker 1>a distinct sound that allows human divers to find it later.

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<v Speaker 1>During the Cold War, the then classified Marine Mammal Program

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<v Speaker 1>had over a hundred dolphins in its service, locating minds

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<v Speaker 1>and other objects, delivering equipment to divers, and even helping

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<v Speaker 1>guard vessels by alerting crude to potential threats like swimmers

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<v Speaker 1>who might be looking to plant explosives. Though the Navy

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<v Speaker 1>can equip dolphins with cameras and sensors, it's really the dolphins'

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<v Speaker 1>natural abilities that make them perfect for jobs like mind detection.

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<v Speaker 1>Unlike the mechanical devices that the Navy builds to detect minds,

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<v Speaker 1>dolphins can easily tell the difference between man made and

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<v Speaker 1>natural objects, and invaluable skill given mind makers can craftily

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<v Speaker 1>disguise them. Dolphins have a remarkably sophisticated sonar ability, using

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<v Speaker 1>their sense of hearing to perceive objects in even very

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<v Speaker 1>murky water. This ability is so evolutionarily honed that human

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<v Speaker 1>technology hasn't come close to replicating it. Sonar is short

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<v Speaker 1>for sound navigation and ranging. It's a method of using

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<v Speaker 1>and interpreting sounds to detect the location of something, especially

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<v Speaker 1>in water, where it's handy for two reasons. First, bodies

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<v Speaker 1>of water are often far too murky for sight, and second,

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<v Speaker 1>sound travels well underwater. After all, sound travels by vibrating particles,

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<v Speaker 1>and the particles in water are much denser than the

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<v Speaker 1>particles in air, so water allows sound waves to move

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<v Speaker 1>faster and for longer distances without degrading a Sonar technology

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<v Speaker 1>works by sending out sounds and waiting for the sounds

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<v Speaker 1>to bounce off of other objects and come back the

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<v Speaker 1>same way that an echo bounces back to us in

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<v Speaker 1>a cave. This technology is called active sonar, as opposed

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<v Speaker 1>to passive sonar, or simply listening for the noises of

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<v Speaker 1>other active objects. With sonar, we can interpret vital informations

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<v Speaker 1>such as exactly how far away enemy submarines are Humans

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<v Speaker 1>have been using sonar for over one hundred years, but

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<v Speaker 1>dolphins have been at it for millennia. The tricks of

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<v Speaker 1>sonar are built into their DNA, so much so that

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<v Speaker 1>they can tell the difference between a beepy gun pellet

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<v Speaker 1>and a kernel of corn from fifty feet away. A

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<v Speaker 1>dolphin's sonar process, but also used by bats and some whales,

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<v Speaker 1>is called echolocation. If you've ever heard a dolphin, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>immediately recognize its characteristic clicks and squeaks. But there's more

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<v Speaker 1>than meets the ear, and many of the noises they

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<v Speaker 1>make are at frequencies too high for the human ear

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<v Speaker 1>to detect. Essentially, dolphins use these clicks as active sonar mechanisms.

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<v Speaker 1>A dolphin's echolocation process goes like this. The dolphin uses

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<v Speaker 1>its nasal passages to make a series of clicks. The

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<v Speaker 1>sound waves travel through its forehead, which contains a fatty

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<v Speaker 1>organ called the melon that focuses and directs the waves

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<v Speaker 1>as they move out into the water. When the sound

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<v Speaker 1>waves hit an object in the water, they bounce back

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<v Speaker 1>to the dolphin as an echo. The dolphin absorbs this

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<v Speaker 1>returning echo through its lower jaw. Another passage of fat

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<v Speaker 1>in the jaw conducts the sound to the dolphin's inner ear,

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<v Speaker 1>which then exchanges nerve impulses with the brain to interpret

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<v Speaker 1>the object's characteristics such as size, shape, and material. One

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<v Speaker 1>way to think about the echolocation process is to imagine

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<v Speaker 1>you're in a pitch black room with only a flickering

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<v Speaker 1>flashlight to guide you. To help understand an object, a

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<v Speaker 1>dolphin will move around it and read it from multiple

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<v Speaker 1>points of view, as you might in the dark room,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as with varying kinds of clicks. They'll even

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<v Speaker 1>adapt for noisy environments by adjusting the frequency of their clicks.

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<v Speaker 1>Using this process, dolphins can determine the size and shape

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<v Speaker 1>of objects, and even in some cases distinguish different metals

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<v Speaker 1>such as brass and copper from far away, which assists

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<v Speaker 1>them in finding minds. However, this has also been why

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<v Speaker 1>in the past dolphins were so prone to getting caught

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<v Speaker 1>in fishing nets. The nets traditionally didn't seem to register

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<v Speaker 1>to dolphins using sonar to navigate. Newer nets are equipped

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<v Speaker 1>with shell shaped plastic beacons that reflect and amplify a

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<v Speaker 1>collocation signals to help prevent these accidents. Researchers aren't sure

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<v Speaker 1>how a dolphin's brain interprets sonar information. So much of

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<v Speaker 1>our human understanding relies on visual information that it's hard

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<v Speaker 1>for us to wrap our minds around the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>seeing objects so specifically with our ears. Because dolphins are

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<v Speaker 1>so good with sonar, studying them hopefully will help us

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<v Speaker 1>improve our own sonar technology, and the Marine Mammal Program

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<v Speaker 1>has funded all kinds of research into these and other

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<v Speaker 1>marine animals physiology, health, behavior, and sensory systems. Thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>this and other research, underwater drones are improving all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>but the dolphins' capabilities are still unmatched, and the Marine

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<v Speaker 1>Mammal Program persists to this day. Then has used bottlenosed

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<v Speaker 1>dolphins and sometimes California sea lions as security agents, detecting

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<v Speaker 1>swimmers and divers around vessels during the Vietnam War, the

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<v Speaker 1>Gulf War, and beyond. The program was mostly declassified and

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<v Speaker 1>heavily downsized in the nineteen nineties, but out of a

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<v Speaker 1>base in San Diego, the Navy still trains both dolphins

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<v Speaker 1>and sea lions as guards a plus the dolphins for

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<v Speaker 1>mine location and the sea lions for equipment location and recovery.

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<v Speaker 1>The sea lions can be trained to attach recovery lines

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<v Speaker 1>to found equipment. Of course, using animals to do military

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<v Speaker 1>work comes with a lot of questions. How are they

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<v Speaker 1>cared for and how safe and satisfied are they during

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<v Speaker 1>missions and transport. The Navy maintains a staff of trainers

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<v Speaker 1>and veterinarians who administer daily preventative health care as well

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<v Speaker 1>as regular exams, and they run mobile clinics that travel

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<v Speaker 1>with the animals during deployment. Nting process is much safer

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<v Speaker 1>for the dolphins than it might sound. Dolphins aren't trained

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<v Speaker 1>to get close to a mine, but rather to sense

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<v Speaker 1>it from a safe distance, and if the dolphins were

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<v Speaker 1>to happen close to a mine, it shouldn't explode. Mines

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<v Speaker 1>are not built to detonate when disturbed by marine life,

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<v Speaker 1>but rather by large, heavy ships. If animals the size

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<v Speaker 1>of dolphins could detonate a mine, the mine would explodes

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<v Speaker 1>soon after being planted, a rendering it useless as a

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<v Speaker 1>weapon against enemy ships. Still, animal rights groups find fault

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<v Speaker 1>with the program. Deployment can mean transportation via ships, cargo planes,

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<v Speaker 1>or trucks. The Navy uses special enclosures to keep the

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<v Speaker 1>animals safe, but distance travel can be inherently uncomfortable, even

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<v Speaker 1>for humans who understand what's going on. Plus, the waters

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<v Speaker 1>that the animals are deployed into are unfamiliar environments, potentially

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<v Speaker 1>with fairly different water conditions than what they're used to.

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<v Speaker 1>There are regulations in place about things like temperature changes,

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<v Speaker 1>but all of this could be a source of stress

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<v Speaker 1>for the animals, which could have a negative impact on

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<v Speaker 1>the animal's health and well being. Also, when an animal

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<v Speaker 1>is retired, what happens then. Although a few of the

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<v Speaker 1>program's animals have just left, they are trained partially in

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<v Speaker 1>open waters, so they have that option. It's generally not

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<v Speaker 1>recommended to release animals into the wild that are comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>with humans and have come to rely on human provided

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<v Speaker 1>food and shelter. Some retired dolphins have found homes in

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<v Speaker 1>marine sanctuaries. Others have been kept in the Navy's care.

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<v Speaker 1>From the other side of the Cold War, some of

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<v Speaker 1>the Soviet Navy's dolphins originally trained for military operations have

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<v Speaker 1>been retrained as therapy animals for children. In the end,

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<v Speaker 1>animal activists question, is it ever okay to use creatures

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<v Speaker 1>that are completely ignorant of the danger involved in war.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there any benefit to human life that can excuse

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<v Speaker 1>removing wild animals from wild environments or at least from

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<v Speaker 1>adapted sanctuaries. Is the benefit that the animals receive from

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<v Speaker 1>guaranteed food, shelter, and socialization worth it? These are complicated questions.

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<v Speaker 1>If you'd like to learn more about the Marine mammal program,

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<v Speaker 1>you can visit the United States Naval Undersea Museum online

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<v Speaker 1>or in person in Keyport, Washington, or for personnel with

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<v Speaker 1>base access in San Diego, you can schedule a tour

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<v Speaker 1>through the Connaissance and Interdiction Division. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article how can dolphins disarmed Sea Mindes on

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<v Speaker 1>HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Jane mcgrat. Brain stuff It

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