Russian Defense Ministry has decided to buy five dolphins

: Posted On Thursday, 10 March 2016 13:53

Naval Defense Industry News - Russia

Russian Defense Ministry has decided to buy five dolphins

The Russian Defense Ministry plans to acquire five bottle-nosed dolphins for 1.75 million rubles ($24,500), according to the governmental acquisition website.

Navy marine mammal handler Electronic Technician 2nd Class Eric Kenas shows how a trained dolphin reacts to different hand gestures, during Lead Shield III/Roguex V, an exercise to test port facility anti-terrorism readiness. The Coast Guard and Navy conducted the two exercises around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The combined exercise involved 24 local, state and federal agencies in an effort to disrupt a simulated terrorist attack, respond to the consequences and maintain port operations. (Picture US Navy)

According to the tender documentation available there, the Russian military requires two males and three females of the species, aged three to five years old. The ministry is going to buy dolphins measuring 2.3 m to 2.7 m in length. It emphasized that the dolphins should "display motion activity."

Bottle-nosed dolphins should be caught in the presence of a marine mammal veterinarian and be transported by cargo vehicles in seawater-filled reservoirs.

The dolphins must spend a month in quarantine at a facility "provided by the contractor."

The tender documentation has not specified the reason, for which the Defense Ministry needs dolphins.

The media reported in late 2014 that the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet had conducted exercises involving combat dolphins. The ministry denied the reports. Its spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, stressed: "There is no need for exotic methods to secure the littorals whatsoever."